Dear Alumni and Friends,
As promised, this month’s newsletter includes an update on our developing esports program. Headed up by UNL alum, Husker football great and seasoned esports coach Ahman Green, the proposed program offers an opportunity for students to engage in a shared passion for gaming in a centralized location on campus. We’ve secured scholarships to recruit a competitive varsity team, sketched out the initial plans for an esports arena and hired Assistant Professor Ryan Tan to help us build up curriculum around esports. As you would expect from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, the program will also offer hands-on student experiences in livestream production, broadcasting (known as shoutcasting in esports), digital graphics, event management and more. Check out the update here!
Join us on March 9, at 4 p.m., to hear from Ahman on how he plans to grow the esports team at UNL during our celebration of the new Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab located in Andersen Hall. You'll also get an inside look at the lab, meet our all-star students and faculty and learn about the game-changing programs and courses we offer. RSVP now for the grand opening!
The Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab was made possible by the generous contributions of Pepsi-Co of Lincoln and will support students in our sports media and communication major and Experience Lab, which provides opportunities for students to work in college media outlets, including Nebraska News Service, Unlimited Sports, Nebraska Nightly and 90.3 KRNU.
Thank you to everyone who helped us Glow Big Red. Your gifts supported student experiences, 90.3 KRNU and student scholarships. A special thanks to alums Jeff Zeleny, Ed May and Randy Essex for providing matching funds. Don’t worry if you missed the big event, you can give all year!
This newsletter features stories about our recent Hearst, Addy and BEA Festival awards, links to our students’ analysis of the Omaha World Herald’s historical coverage of race-related stories, previews the upcoming Perry Photojournalism Challenge, highlights the hard work of our new academic navigator and celebrates our faculty, students and alumni doing big things in their careers.
If you ever have questions about the college or any of our programs, please feel free to email me directly. I would love to hear from you!
Go Big Red!
Shari
