Big Ten Academic Alliance
Academic Leadership Program
Each year, up to six Nebraska faculty members are selected as ALP Fellows and participate in the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program. The Academic Leadership Program is one of the most successful leadership initiatives of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Established in 1989, the program develops the academic leadership and managerial skills of nominated faculty who have demonstrated exceptional ability and academic promise. The program addresses the challenges of academic administration at major research universities while helping faculty members prepare to meet those challenges.
ALP Fellows attend three 3-day seminars, each at a different Big Ten campus. They also participate in on-campus meetings throughout the academic year with members of our university's academic leadership.
Learn more about the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program.
2022-23 ALP Fellows
Steve Cooper
Chancellor’s Professor of Computer Science, Executive Director of the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management
Steve Cooper is Chancellor’s Professor of Computer Science in the School of Computing and Executive Director of the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. He also has a courtesy appointment in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education. Cooper came to UNL from the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. His research areas lie in computer science education, with particular interest in program visualization and trying to understand how students learn to program. He is most well-known for his work with the Alice programming environment and developing Alice-related curricular materials. He has co-authored many technical papers on Alice, as well as two textbooks. Cooper received his bachelor of arts degrees in mathematics and chemistry from Cornell University, and his master of science and doctoral degrees in computer science from Syracuse University.
Kwame Dawes
George W. Holmes University Professor of English, Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner
Kwame Dawes is George W. Holmes University Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner. He is author of numerous books of poetry and other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. His most recent collection UnHistory, was co-written with John Kinsella. He teaches in the Pacific Master of Fine Arts Program and is the Series Editor of the African Poetry Book Series, Director of the African Poetry Book Fund, and Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. He is a Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Editor of American Life in Poetry, Dawes is the winner of the prestigious Windham/Campbell Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He holds a doctoral degree in English from the University of New Brunswick.
David Holding
Professor and Associate Department Head of Agronomy and Horticulture
David Holding is Professor and Associate Department Head in Agronomy and Horticulture and a member of the Center for Plant Science Innovation in the Beadle Center for Biotechnology. His research focuses on basic and applied aspects of cereal grain development and maturation and he has been instrumental in defining and breeding traits involved in optimal grain protein quality. His successful projects — funded by federal agencies, commodity boards and industry — have focused on sorghum, maize, popcorn, and sweetcorn breeding for nutritional improvement. He mentors post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduates, facilitates undergraduate experiential learning opportunities in breeding and genetics, and mentors three UCARE students. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from the University of Sussex, a doctorate in plant molecular genetics from King’s College London, and has completed postdoctoral studies at University of California, Riverside and University of Arizona.
Debra A. Hope
Aaron Douglas Professor of Psychology, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Education
Debra Hope is Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Education and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her primary line of research early in her career was on the assessment and treatment of anxiety, especially social anxiety. In the last decade, her work has focused on LGBTQ mental health. In 2014 she co-founded Trans Collaborations, an interdisciplinary community-based research group with a mission of reducing health disparities for adults who identify as transgender and gender diverse in underserved areas. Across both lines of research, she seeks to encourage mental health providers to adopt the best evidence-based interventions. Hope has won several campus awards including the Chancellor’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Fulfilling the Dream Award, Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community, Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education, and the College of Arts and Sciences Award for Outstanding Teaching. A first-generation student, Hope has been a member of UNL's faculty since finishing her doctorate at the State University of New York – University at Albany in 1990. Hope uses she/her/hers pronouns.
Oleh Khalimonchuk
Susan J. Rosowski Professor of Biochemistry, Director of Nebraska Redox Biology Center
Oleh Khalimonchuk is Susan J. Rosowski Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Nebraska Redox Biology Center. He is also a member of the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at UNMC and the University of Utah Center for Iron and Heme Disorders. His research is focused on fundamental understanding of processes behind vital mitochondrial functions and their contribution to human diseases and his interests include the mechanisms of mitochondrial heme transport and the neuroprotective roles of mitochondrial quality control factors. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies and has received several prestigious awards. He is a member of external review committees at the NIH National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council and the United Kingdom Medical Research Council. He received bachelor and master of science degrees from Lviv National University, a doctorate from the Technische Universität Dresden and Max Planck Institute of Cell Biology and Genetics, and has completed postdoctoral training at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Yusong Li
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion in the College of Engineering
Yusong Li is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion in the College of Engineering. Her research is about the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment and has been supported by federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and American Chemistry Society. Her work has been published in leading journals such as Environmental Sciences and Technology, Environmental Sciences: Nano, and Water Research. She was chair of the American Geophysical Union unsaturated zone technical committee from 2018 to 2020. Li serves as the scientific communications editor for the Vadose Zone Journal and will serve as co-editor in 2023. At UNL, she has received the College Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017 and served on the Graduate Council representing the College of Engineering from 2017 to 2021. Li received both her bachelor and master of science at Tsinghua University in China and her doctorate at Vanderbilt University. She has conducted postdoctoral research at Tufts University.