It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Marsha Kruger, a beloved and long-serving member of the UNO English Department, who left us on September 17 after a courageous battle with cancer. Marsha devoted forty years to our department, shaping programs, uplifting students, and offering steady support to her colleagues.
Students, Submit Your Design for the Signatures Logo and Font Contest!!!
When Sara Tangdall graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with her English degree, she never imagined her career would lead her into the world of artificial intelligence. Today, Sara Tangdall is the Senior Principal of AI Ethics & Compliance at Nike, with a resume that also includes leadership roles at Google and Salesforce. Her work centers on AI governance, helping major companies ensure that emerging technologies are developed and used responsibly.
When Dr. Charles Johanningsmeier arrived at UNO, he felt he was stepping into an adventure. After years of teaching on year-to-year contracts in upstate New York, he interviewed for a position in Omaha and was immediately drawn to the community. “It seemed like an adventure to me and my wife to come to Omaha,” he recalls. “And it has been. It’s been a great place to live and a great place to work.” Years later, his students will easily tell you: UNO is lucky he chose us.
When Summer Dingman first came across the UNO Writing Center job posting on Handshake, she scrolled right past it—twice. “I assumed that I wasn’t qualified enough for the position and ignored it,” she admitted.
”What began as a search for an English-specific job turned into one of the most formative experiences of her college career. Since joining the Writing Center staff, Summer has found not only professional growth but also a community that has shaped her as a writer, tutor, and student.
For many graduate students, one of the most rewarding parts of the journey is finding a sense of community—a space to share ideas, collaborate, and grow together. At UNO, the English graduate program brings together an incredibly diverse group of thinkers, writers, and educators, each with their own passions and perspectives.
What Are You Reading?
I recently read The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel. It's a post-human neo-noir near-future political satire—and its subjects range from baseball scouting to neanderthals. It evokes William Gibson in one moment with its steely sci-fi vision of a bleak corporatized tomorrow, and George Saunders in the next with its sly absurdity all wrapped up in a bow of the blackest humor. The plot sticks with the protagonist, Kobo, a genetically modified and cybernetically enhanced former baseball player turned scout-for-hire who is investigating the gruesome death of his adopted brother, a big-league star whose body literally falls apart at home plate right before the World Series. Kobo's investigations allow Michel to show off an impressive command of world-building for a first-time novelist as he sketches out a bleak future rife with many slow apocalypses: climate change, pandemics, and increasing scarcity and economic inequality. With short chapters, punchy dialogue, and memorable set pieces, the book is the best of both worlds, offering the substance of character-driven literary fiction alongside the energy and action of a breezy beach read.
Kyle Simonsen, Lecturer
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