Best of 2014: Superintendents Academy

It was a special year for UNO in 2014 with countless events, achievements, special guest visits and national recognitions for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The Midlands Superintendent Program welcomes local, regional, and national educational leaders to UNO's campus to gain experience from each other as well as develop increased leadership skills to take back to their distrcits.

"Midlands Superintendent Academy to Graduate Inaugural Class"

June 2014

On Friday, June 13, a class of 15 superintendents and assistant superintendents from Nebraska and Iowa will become the first graduates of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Midlands Superintendents Academy.

Launched in September 2013, the 10-month program was designed by UNO and former Millard Public Schools superintendent Keith Lutz to provide educational leaders with the skills needed to help them successfully lead and manage school districts.

The graduating members of this first class are as follows:

Mark Adler, Ph.D. - superintendent of Ralston Public Schools
Michael Amstein, Ph.D. - superintendent of Atlantic Community Schools
Candace Conradt, Ph.D. - superintendent of Central City Public Schools
Brad Dahl - assistant superintendent of Ralston Public Schools
Mark Evans – superintendent of Omaha Public Schools
Kristi Gibbs – assistant superintendent of Ralston Public Schools
Bary Habrock – assistant superintendent of Elkhorn Public Schools
Frank Harwood – superintendent of Bellevue Public Schools
Rob Hanson, Ph.D. – assistant superintendent of Papillion-La Vista Public Schools
ReNae Kehrberg, Ph.D. – assistant superintendent of Omaha Public Schools
Ann Mausbach, Ph.D. – assistant superintendent of Council Bluffs Community Schools
Rex Pfeil – superintendent of Blair Public Schools
Andy Rikli, Ph.D. – superintendent of Papillion-La Vista Public Schools
Dan Schnoes, Ph.D. – superintendent of DC West Community Schools
Jim Sutfin, Ph.D. – assistant superintendent of Millard Public Schools

As part of the program, participants came to the UNO campus for one eight-hour class each month, except for December, focused on topics such as strategic planning, ethical leadership, managing a crisis, technological innovations and even how to handle political lobbyists.

Throughout each of the classes, the participants worked with UNO educators as well as community and business leaders from around the country to address their district’s strategic plan and make sure it is serving their district and city’s goals and needs.

These leaders included Tom Osborne, former Nebraska congressman and University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletic director; Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust; and Tim Waters, president and chief executive officer of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), just to name a few.

In addition to guest speakers, each participant had a personal business executive mentor that provided them insight and guidance.