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. Fellows are appointed for five-year terms and are nominated/renewed each October.
New Fellows in 2025
Approved Nov. 2025
Heather Akin, Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication, UNL
Specialties: Science communication, public engagement, agricultural and environmental engagement
Amber Alexander, Assistant Professor of History, UNK
World War II home front in Nebraska, history of education in the Great Plains, community and civic engagement in rural America, Great Plains women's history, history and social studies pedagogy, online education
Donna Anderson, Mellon Research Assistant Professor in U.S. Law and Race, History, UNL
Asian American History, Midwestern history, race and law, immigration
Monique Bassey, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture Program, UNL
Environmental and social justice, collaborative design process, community-centered design, cultural knowledge building education, and community engagement
Catelyn Bridges, Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, UNL
Postharvest engineering, renewable drying systems, emerging crops, community-engaged teaching and scholarly activity
Emily Frankel, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UNMC
Great Plains health, community engagement and collaboration, place-based health systems.
Jason Griffiths, Associate Professor in the College of Architecture, UNL
Mass timber construction, forestry harvesting, local tree species (eastern redcedar and green ash), community architecture, adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings, carbon sequestration
Melanie Menning, Director Community Engagement and Outreach, Great Plains IDEA-CTR Assistant Dean, Community Engagement UNMC Family Medicine Associate Professor
Health-related community outreach, diverse populations, health professional education
Mark Stone, Professor and Department Head, Biological Systems Engineering, UNL
Social-ecological resilience, Cconvergence science, responsible AI
Wenjie Wang, Assistant Professor Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian, UNL
Geospatial data infrastructure, land use, land cover change, GIS service models, library-based geospatial support
Affiliate Fellows
John Legg, Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Loyola University New Orleans
Indigenous history, northern Plains and midwestern history, borderlands, migration/mobility, public history, digital humanities, oral history, spatial history, Indigenous cultural preservation
Amanda Maciuba, Assistant Professor of Art Studio, Mount Holyoke College
Interdisciplinary print and book artist focusing on the tallgrass prairie, native plants and narrative histories of river watersheds.
Laura Rose, South Central Regional Park Superintendent
Heritage tourism and economic impact, interpreting Great Plains military and migration history, balancing recreation with preservation.
Daniel Scheller, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Director of the Master of Public Administration program, Political Science, Texas Tech University
Urban policy, neighborhood/community development, housing, civic participation
Daniel Simon, Assistant Director and Editor in Chief of World Literature Today, University of Oklahoma
World literature, translation studies, comparative literature, poetry
Kelly Yarbrough, Artist, Program Lead for the Tallgrass Artist Residency
Visual art, art and ecology, arts administration, community events and programming