Apr 10, 2019
By Victoria Grdina
Students, faculty and alumni were honored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln at its annual Ivy Day ceremonies on April 6.
The event, co-sponsored by Mortar Board and the Innocents Society, recognized outstanding contributions of students selected to serve in the two organizations, as well as the achievements of current members and notable underclassmen and seniors.
Ceremonies took place at the Nebraska Champions Club and concluded with the traditional planting of the ivy by the 2019-20 presidents of the societies: Lukas Hall of Omaha for Mortar Board and Kamryn Sannicks of Lincoln for the Innocents Society.
Jim Pillen — vice chairman of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, president of Pillen Family Farms and a managing partner of DNA Genetics — delivered the keynote address. Pillen is a Nebraska Football Hall of Fame inductee and received the Nebraska Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. He earned a Bachelor of Science in animal science from Nebraska and a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University.
An honorary membership in the Innocents Society was presented to Kelli King, director of the William H. Thompson Scholars Learning Community at Nebraska.
Honorary Mortar Board memberships were presented to Charlie Foster, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs at Nebraska; Stan Garbacz, Nebraska’s agricultural trade representative; and John Hibbing, Foundation Regents University Professor of Political Science at Nebraska.
The Innocents Society inducts 13 new members each spring, with selection based on leadership, scholarship and service to the university and greater community. The Innocents Society was founded in 1903 to promote the spirit of the university and is the chancellor's senior honorary. It is not affiliated with any national organization.
New members of Mortar Board are tapped into the Black Masque Chapter each spring by Mortar Boarders wearing black masks and robes. The 26 new members were selected on the basis of outstanding scholarship, leadership and service to the university and community.
Following is a list of the 2019 CSE inductees into the Innocents Society and the Black Masque chapter of Mortar Board:
· Dana Hoppe, Innocents Society, computer science, son of Fred and Donna Hoppe
· Matthew Meacham, Innocents Society, computer science and mathematics, son of Jeanette and John Meecham
· Gauri Ramesh, Mortar Board, computer science, daughter of Sangitha and Ramesh Balakrishnan
· Jacob Shiohira, Mortar Board, computer science and mathematics, son of Bill and Deborah Shiohira
View the full list of inductees here.