Fellows constitute the core of the intellectual community that is the Center. They publish research and book reviews in the Center’s journals, give talks as Olson lecturers, speak at the annual Great Plains conference, and advise the Great Plains Art Museum. They sit on the Board of Governors and choose the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize winner. Their work helps the Center meet its mission of increasing understanding of and appreciation for the people, cultures, and natural environment of the Great Plains.
About the Fellows
Fellows of the Center include scholars presently holding regular appointments at the University of Nebraska who are concerned with the past, present, and future of the Great Plains. Affiliate Fellows consist of outside-NU scholars and community members. Together, they create a community of Great Plains scholars who work with the Center in many ways, including governance, projects, and support. The Center supports Fellows and Affiliate Fellows by increasing the visibility of their scholarship and creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. Our most involved Fellows help shape the Center and our projects.
New Fellows in 2023
Samantha Ammons, Associate Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, UNO
Specialties: Work-family-leisure boundaries and well-being; occupations; community and "little free libraries"; mixed methodology
Timi Barone, Associate Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, UNO
Specialties: Medical anthropology, ethnomedicine, human adaptation
Joy Castro, Willa Cather Professor of English and Ethnic Studies, Director of Institute for Ethnic Studies, UNL
Specialties: Memoir, fiction, film, U.S. ethnic literatures, women's literatures, modernism
Alison Cloet, Education & Outreach Associate, Center for Great Plains Studies, UNL
Specialties: Art and environmental education, afterschool programming, design research
Lauren Gatti, Associate Professor, Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education, UNL
Specialties: English education, teacher education, democratic education
Kate Heelen, Department Chair, Professor, Exercise Science, UNK
Specialties: Physical activity, community wellness and pediatric obesity prevention and treatment program
Angel Hinzo, Assistant Professor, History and Ethnic Studies, UNL
Specialties: history and federal Indian policy from mid-19th century to the present
Beth Lewis, Professor, Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education, UNL
Specialties: Secondary science education; teacher learning, professional development, and leadership; geoscience education issues
Salvador Lindquist, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture, UNL
Specialties: environmental and climate justice, community engaged design, mapping and visualization
Shannon Mulhearn, Assistant Professor, Physical Education, UNK
Specialties: Stress and coping, and teacher education preparation
Eric Reed, Professor, Director of Transfer Programs at Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis
Specialties: Literature of U.S. West, Great Plains historical violence
Allison Schlosser, Assistant Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, UNO
Specialties: Sociocultural medical anthropology, ethnographic methods, anthropology of drug use, and health disparities.
Kelly Smith, Drought Impacts Researcher, Assistant Director and Communications Coordinator, National Drought Mitigation Center, UNL
Specialties: drought impacts, climate impacts, crowdsourcing, big data, drought signal
Suzanne Maughan Spencer, Sociology Department Chair, UNK
Specialties: Rural youth as they transition to adulthood, and the impact that they will have in their home communities
Liahnna Stanley, Assistant Professor, Communications and Ethnic Studies, UNL
Specialties: Rhetoric and cultural studies, literary criticism, speculative fiction, Indigenous sovereignty and critical theory
Sarah Zuckerman, Associate Professor, Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education, UNL
Specialties: state-level educational policy implementation and school-community partnerships, particularly in the context of rural communities
Affiliate Fellows
Mark Brohman, Executive Director, Wachiska Audubon
Specialties: Working with tall-grass prairies, wildlife conservation, environmental issues, and Indigenous peoples
Brandon Cobb, Indigenous Conservation Specialist, The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska
Specialties: Land stewardship, cultural fire, climate change, grazing management
Cory DeRoin, Incoming coordinator for the Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors project
Specialties: Environmental knowledge, food sovereignty, Otoe-Missouria relations
Christina Faw Faw Goodson, Incoming co-director of the Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors project
Specialties: Cultural linguistics, language revitalization, history
Jason Heppler, Historian, Senior Developer at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, History and Art History, George Mason University
Specialties: American West and Northern Plains history, environmental & agricultural history, political history, digital history
Christian Janousek, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Creighton University
Specialties: Political culture and institutions, governance, state and local government, public policy
Kurt Kinbacher, Professor, History/Social Sciences, Chadron State College
Specialties: World History, Ancient and Modern East Asia, and topics that involve the Great Plains and the people who live here
Ryan Klataske, Founder & Principal; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Applied Ethnographic Services; University of Nebraska Medical Center
Specialties: Anthropology, ethnography, agriculture, work, environment, health, and rural life
Autumn Langemeier, Historical Marker Equity Program Coordinator, History Nebraska
Specialties: Local and state commemorative efforts, rural women’s history, material culture, and historically underrepresented communities
Jason St. Sauver, Sr. Manager, Education, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center
Specialties: Environmental education for all ages and abilities focusing on birds, habitat, and connections to communities and equity and inclusion