Pre-Tenure Faculty Information
Get a photo id (the NCARD) in the lower level of the City Campus Union. It serves as an electronic key for access to buildings/rooms, your library card, and can be used as a credit card on campus. You will receive an application for this from the business center when you are hired. If you do not receive it, contact the Director’s office for an application form.
Lotus Notes is the e-mail software for the School of Natural Resources. Prior to your hire, your e-mail account will be setup for you and the software for Lotus Notes full-client will be installed on your computer. In addition to desktop access, you’ll be able to access your e-mail from the Lotus Notes website. At the time of your hire, the SNR staff will also setup your mail box, telephone, and internet connection established, order office keys, and contact you about business cards, among other things.
Parking permits are available from the campus Parking and Transit Services. Please see the campus map to get there. Along with your parking permit, you can get a free bus pass that, in combination with your NCard, allows you to use the Lincoln bus system, Startran.
As part of our internal process for hiring new employees, a phone will be setup for you prior to your start, based on your input. An information packet will be provided to you when your employment starts. Contact the SNR Phone Coordinator, Bernice Goemann, if you have problems or need changes.
Your desk will be provided with the Centrex, the UNL phone book, and a copy of the city’s phone book. Dialing instructions can be found in the green section of the Centrex. To make an on-campus call, dial 2 and the 4-digit extension. For local off-campus calls, dial 9, then the 7-digit phone number. For long-distance calls, dial 9, 1, and the 10-digit phone number. Other instructions can be found at the front of the Centrex.
As part of our internal process for hiring new employees, internet connection will be established in your office based on your input. If you have questions or problems, contact our IT Manager, Jim Hines.
Campus mail allows you to send mail in manila-type envelopes with just the name, building address, campus (CC for City Campus or EC for East Campus) and 4-digit zip code for no charge to the department. Campus mail policies are outlined here. Hardin Hall has an internal mail delivery system. If you are in Hardin and have mail for someone also in Hardin, you can put it in the Internal Mail box and it will be redistributed within a day.
SNR Organizational Chart (pdf, January 2007).
The Director is Mark Kuzila, who also serves as the State Geologist. He is supported by Ms. Sharon Kelly, Secretary to the Director; Dr. David Gosselin, Associate Director and Teaching Coordinator; Ms. Christine Steggs, Assistant to the Director and Administrative Operations Coordinator; Dr. Sunil Narumalani, Research Coordinator; and Dr. Jerry Ayers, Survey Coordinator. Ms. Kelly handles scheduling of the Director’s calendar, Promotion & Tenure files, and department reporting. Ms. Steggs handles policies & procedures, safety, space/facility assignments, academic position development, employee education/training, facilitates the SNR Managers, and manages the SNR Office Support Staff.
SNR faculty hold monthly meetings, which are chaired by the SNR Director. Agenda items may come from the Faculty Advisory Committee, the SNR Coordinators, the SNR Director, or any member of the faculty. The SNR Faculty have 3 representatives on Academic Senate.
Current SNR Standing Committees
To bring in a guest speaker or to give a seminar, contact the Research Committee.
Each faculty and staff in SNR is assigned to an office support person who will provide them with office services. The assignments are based on location as follows:
| Name | Location of faculty/staff supported | Office | Phone |
| Elaine Connelly | Hardin Hall floors 7 and 8 | 525 | 472-3679 |
| Bernice Goemann | Hardin Hall floors 3 and 6, Annex, Research and Extension Centers | 522 | 472-8197 |
| Sharon Kelly | Hardin Hall floor 9 - SNR Admin Staff | 912 | 472-9873 |
| Diana Smith | Hardin Hall floors 4 and 5 | 518 | 472-2188 |
| Susan Vosler | Hardin Hall north and south wings, floors 1 and 2 | 150a | 472-5355 |
Services include, but are not limited to, preparing correspondence, posting files to BlackBoard, scheduling meetings, handling office mail, maintaining the work room and copier supplies on the floor, maintaining generic office supplies in the work room, ordering special office supplies (you have to provide a cost object for these).
If you are associated with a center, you may also work with the Center’s office/administrative support staff:
| Center/Unit | Admin staff | Hardin Location | Phone |
| Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies | Bernice Goemann | 522 | 472-8197 |
| Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit | Christine Lockert | 514 | 472-5853 |
| Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit | Valerie Egger | 422 | 472-0449 |
| Great Plains Regional Center for Global Environmental Change | Karen Stork (part-time) / Lorna Pleasant | 805 / 810 | 472-7887 / 472-0654 |
| High Plains Regional Climate Center | Shellie Hanneman | 713 | 472-6706 |
| National Drought Mitigation Center | Ann Fiedler | 818 | 472-6707 |
| Water Center | Tricia Liedle | 915 | 472-3306 |
Technical support is provided to SNR faculty/staff through the SNR Managers. Their areas of responsibility are below:
| Name | Area of Responsibility | Office | Phone |
| Jennifer Aerni | Recruiting | 102d | 472.7471 |
| Hilary Hansen | Liaison to laboratory managers | 157 | 472.9104 |
| Jim Hines | Computing, A/V in classrooms | 226b | 472.6708 |
| Les Howard | Cartography, Geographical Information Systems | 229e | 472.9192 |
| Sharon Kelly | Liaison to the Staff Advisory and Professional Development (for coordination of joint projects) | 912 | 472.9873 |
| Jacki Loomis | Event Planning, Sales | 102a | 472.7550 |
| Matt Marxsen | Drilling and Field Services | Annex | 472.6863 |
| Christine Steggs | Administrative operations, policies & procedures, safety, education, training | 908 | 472.8120 |
Technical and Office Support Services
| Description | Contact (Lotus Notes name) | Hardin Location | Phone |
| Cartographic and Graphic Arts (includes printing posters) | Les Howard (Leslie) / Dee Ebbeka (Deanna) | 229e / 229 | 472.9192 / 472.7526 |
| Climate data – State Climatologist’s office | Al Dutcher (Allen) | 724 | 472.5206 |
| Precipitation Chemistry Information | Mark Mesarch | 814 | 472.5904 |
| Computer Support | Jim Hines (James R Hines) | 226b | 472.6708 |
| Database Development and Management | Duane Mohlman | 229f | 472.7528 |
| Drilling and Field Services | Matt Marxsen (Matthew) | Annex | 472.6863 |
| Event Planning | Jacki Loomis (Jacqueline) | 102a | 472.7550 |
| Keys | Elaine Connelly (Elsie Elaine Connelly) | 525 | 472.3679 |
| NCard Access in Hardin Hall | Christine Steggs | 908 | 472.8120 |
| Nebraska Maps and More (Sales and Publication distribution, including web access) | Jacki Loomis (Jacqueline) | 102a | 472.7550 |
| Phones | Bernice Goemann | 522 | 472.8197 |
| Policies and Procedures, Administrative Operations | Christine Steggs | 908 | 472.8120 |
| Recruitment | Jennifer Aerni | 102d | 472.7571 |
| Recycling in Hardin Hall | Elaine Connelly (Elsie Elaine Connelly) | 525 | 472.3679 |
| Safety | Christine Steggs | 908 | 472.8120 |
| Scheduling classrooms | Susan Vosler | 150a | 472.5355 |
| SNR Website | Duane Mohlman | 229f | 472.7528 |
| Software Training | Duane Mohlman | 229f | 472.7528 |
| Soil Sampling, Analysis, and Preparation | Denise Wally (Kathryn D. Wally) | 155 | 472.5648 |
| Teaching Support | Susan Vosler | 150a | 472.5355 |
| Vehicle Coordination | Bev Martin (Beverly) | 101 | 472.7569 |
| Vending Machines | Susan Vosler | 150a | 472.5355 |
| Water Sciences Lab | Dan Snow (Daniel Davidson) | 202 WSL | 472.7539 |
| Web-based Accounts Receivable | Jacki Loomis (Jacqueline) | 102a | 472.7550 |
Our IANR business center is the Natural Resources Business center, which is officed in 237 Hardin Hall (north wing).
| NRBC Employee Name (Lotus Notes name, if different than employee name) | Area | Fax: 402.472.4915 / Office Phone | Hardin Address (North Wing) | Zip Code |
| Cartwright, Carol | Business Center Manager, Staff Hires, Pre-Award Administration, Budgets | 402.472.5536 | 237a | 68583.0972 |
| Cook, Sandy (Sandra Lee) | Human Resources, Payroll | 402.472.0833 | 237i | 68583.0972 |
| DeStefano, Pat (Patricia) | Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Inventory | 402.472.8726 | 237g | 68583.0972 |
| Erickson, Lois | Account Management, Post-Award Administration | 402.472.6703 | 237d | 68583.0972 |
| Foster, Jolene | Time Entry, Travel, On-campus Requisitions, Visas, Deposits | 402.472.7788 | 237b | 68583.0972 |
| Schluckebier, Jerry (Jeralyn) | Account Management, Post-Award Administration | 402.472.8876 | 237c | 68583.0972 |
- Cardholder agreement – application for a University Purchasing Card. This form must be completed and submitted to the business center; you must attend a 1-hour training session and submit required paperwork. If paperwork is not submitted as required, your purchasing card privileges can be revoked.
- Office Depot Order form – to order supplies from Office Depot (catalog is usually found in copier/work rooms)
- Order form - to order supplies or services from vendors other than Office Depot
- Procurement Card Transaction Voucher – If purchase is made with University purchasing card. Complete this form, attach original receipt(s), and submit to the business center.
BEFORE you leave for any work-related travel, complete a Pre-Trip Authorization form from the "SNR Forms" website (submit it to Sharon Kelly, 912 HarH, EC 0989)
To be reimbursed for your out-of-pocket expenses, you need to fill out an Employee Expense Voucher from the "SNR Forms" page, attach all receipts, and submit it to Jolene Foster, 237 HarH, EC 0972.
The IANR Vice Chancellor’s office provides $900 to each faculty, based on their IANR FTE, to use over a 3-year period. Jerry Schluckebier will notify you if you are eligible for these funds and can provide you with balances and procedures.
For faculty with an appointment within SNR – College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the CAS Dean's office currently pays an additional $600 for each full-time faculty to travel and present. Explanation and form.
The University has a number of rules and regulations regarding use of their vans, including unit head approval.
- Large Passenger Van Policy (speed limits, who can drive and when, etc.) You must have passenger van training to drive the vans. All students that will drive must also pass Van Training. Call the Office of Transportation Services 472-2659 to arrange to take the two-hour online training session.
- Van Rental Rates
- Vehicle Rental Request - .doc (used only if you request reservation assistance). Your office support staff member can help you reserve vans. They'll need a Cost Object number (who's paying) and the Vehicle Rental Request form filled out.
- Student Trip Insurance website and form. If you are transporting students, you must arrange to insure the students at a cost of $.25 per day. Complete a Student Field Trip form, from the Student Trip Insurance website, which includes a list of each student (name, student ID number), their emergency contact info, drivers, etc. This must be provided to the business center before you leave.
About a week after you have been added to the University’s payroll system, you will receive via your Lotus Notes e-mail address, a Faculty Leave Request Form from Elaine Connelly, who is our faculty leave request coordinator. The form will include your University Personnel Number, which is different than the NU ID # located on the front of your NCard. If you are not at your computer and want to complete a form, you may access a blank from the SNR Forms web page.
Leave Types (vacation, sick, et al)
Faculty on 12-month appointments are eligible to request/report leave for vacation, illness, funeral, military, injury/workers comp, civil leave/jury duty. Faculty on 9-month appointments are not eligible for vacation leave (vacation is to be taken during the academic year calendar breaks: fall, spring, and summer breaks and the year-end shut down. During the summer, faculty on 9-month appointments may have a summer research appointment funded from grants for up to 33% of the Academic Year salary).
If you are not feeling well, you are asked to call in to your office support staff member or to Sharon Kelly, 472-9873, within an hour of your regular arrival time. If you are teaching, you must indicate how your class will be covered. A faculty leave request form can be completed and submitted after you return to the office.
Vacation leave is to be submitted to the Director prior to your absence from the office.
New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Completing/submitting a form for this leave is not required. If a staff member is required to work on a paid Holiday, they report hours worked on the holiday (if hourly-paid) and then request the Holiday leave at another time.
Each calendar year, the University shuts down all buildings for approximately one week. The employees are given this time as holiday pay for holidays that employees worked during the year. To earn Floating Holiday leave, an employee must be in employment status on the days as follows: Presidents Day (third Monday in February), Arbor Day (last Friday in April), Columbus Day (second Monday in October), and Veterans Day (November 11).
Occasionally, UNL will close due to bad weather. This will be reported on local television and radio stations. Employees who are normally scheduled to work on these days will not be expected to come into work (unless their positions are considered critical), and will be paid.
- While planning your course: Find out about the strange and generally misunderstood "Dead Week Policy" that limits when assignments can be made due. Assignments due the last week of class must be assigned in writing by the 8th week, and must be due by Wednesday of Dead Week.
- The University requires a syllabus and offers help on writing a syllabus. "The University…does require that: "Students... be informed of the requirements, standards, objectives, and evaluation procedures at the beginning of each individual course." The syllabus should state course objectives, a plan for the course, and specific information on how the students' grades will be assigned. The syllabus should give the values that will receive an "A+", "A", "A.", etc. This should be clearly given in the syllabus the first week of class. You are not required to give "+" and "-" grades, but if you do, specify where the cutoffs are for them.
- Classes are automatically posted on Blackboard, which will give you enrollments and a way to communicate with your students and post documents for their use. All the instructions are given on the Blackboard homepage, and workshops are offered by the Information Technology Group (ITG).
- Teaching faculty are expected to set hours for students to drop by for advising and course and research consultation or they must be easily accessible to schedule meetings.
- Undergraduate students can get funding for senior thesis/research projects through the University's UCARE grant program. See the Calendar for proposal due dates (generally, early February for the following academic year).
Undergraduate Curriculum Process
All new courses require approval from the Department, College, and University Curriculum Committees. The Natural Resources Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is the coordinating group for all natural resource majors.
- New Course Listing Request - .doc, .pdf
- Undergraduate Curriculum Process & Forms (Arts & Sciences)
Contact the Chair of the SNR Graduate Committee, currently Tala Awada, for information / instruction.
Contact Susan Vosler, 472-5355, 150a Hardin Hall (north wing), svosler1@unl.edu, to reserve classrooms in Hardin Hall. She can also direct you with contact information for other rooms across campus.
SNR Faculty and Teaching Assistants will automatically be given NCard access to the Hardin Hall rooms in which they are scheduled to teach.
| Room Number | Description | # of people it will hold | A/V-capable yes/no |
| 023 | Teaching Wet Lab | 30 | Yes* |
| 024 | Teaching Wet Lab | 30 | Yes* |
| 141 | Teaching Computer Lab | 24 | Yes* |
| 142 | Teaching Computer Lab | 24 | Yes* |
| 163 | Large Classroom | 50 | Yes* |
| 107 | Auditorium | 170-530 | Yes* |
Rooms 23 & 24, teaching wet labs. Each room
has an NCard door and a regular door. Both doors are always LOCKED. Faculty
and Teaching Assistants (TAs) must use their NCard to open the room, and then
they can prop open both doors for students to enter. When class has ended, the
Faculty or TA is responsible for making sure that both doors are closed.
141 & 142, computer teaching labs. Each room has one NCard access door. Door is UNLOCKED 30 minutes before class starts and LOCKED approximately 30 minutes after the class/event is scheduled to end. This schedule is revised at the start of each semester.
163, main classroom, north wing. Room is UNLOCKED at 6:30 AM and LOCKED at 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday. If there is a night class, the room will be unlocked 30 minutes before and after the scheduled class time. The entry doors to the north wing will be unlocked for night classes.
162, 24 x 7 computer laboratory. Room is LOCKED all the time. Students taking classes in rooms 141 and 142 are automatically given access through the semester (revisited at the beginning of each semester, and again after drops/adds). NRES undergraduate and graduate majors are given access to the laboratory and outer doors to the north wing until graduation.
* There will be instructions at the podium. If there are problems, contact the SNR IT Manager, Jim Hines for assistance, 472-6708.
Course evaluations are required near the end of the semester for each course. The Department supplies a standard questionnaire which will be provided by the Undergraduate/Graduate Secretary. The Instructor must assign the collection of the evaluations to a student in the class, who will collect them, put them in a labeled envelope, and deliver them to the School’s Undergraduate/Graduate secretary. The Instructor is to leave the room after handing out the evaluation forms.
If the course requires a field trip, you must arrange to insure the students at a cost of $.25 per day. Complete a Student Field Trip form, from the Student Trip Insurance website and provide to our business center before you leave. If a trip becomes a regular part of a class, you can incorporate the insurance cost into class fees. Student Trip Insurance website and form.
The School will fund approximately 14 Teaching Assistantships in the amount of $3k each for NRES courses, based on course enrollment (above 15 for labs, above 30 for lectures). In limited circumstances and with the approval of the Associate Director/Teaching Coordinator, a Teaching Assistant may be assigned to a course that does not meet the course enrollment criteria. Any student is eligible for these appointments.
- Contact the UNL Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to get an NSF fastlane account set up before the proposal deadline! Contact Nancy Becker and tell her you're a new faculty member, and she will get you set up.
- Nancy will also help you figure out how to do the budget for your funding agency.
- Each week the Office of Research distributes an email list of funding opportunities appropriate to UNL areas of expertise. Funding Announcements is compiled from the funding opportunities offered by federal funding agencies, private foundations, and a variety of additional entities. To subscribe, contact Nathan Meier, 472-1808 or nmeier2@unl.edu . PDF versions of Funding Announcements may also be accessed here.
- OSP will also help you get started on the Community of Science (COS) network (see "University Resources", below).
- SNR Guidelines
ARD Research Project Requirements
- Faculty with an Agricultural Research Division (ARD) appointment of .25 FTE or greater in the are expected to have a Research Project in which they are the lead PI.
- FTE less than .25, they can be a co-PI with another faculty member.
- New faculty are given six months to adjust to their new position before they are expected to take action.
- SNR ARD Research Projects are coordinated by the Research Coordinator and the Assistant to the Director.
- ARD Projects
Application deadline for an SNR graduate program is revolving; applications are accepted at any time. If you are applying for an SNR state-funded assistantship ($3k per class, see Teaching Assistantships above for more info), the deadline is February 1.
- UNL's Academy of Distinguished Teachers offers mentoring partnerships for new faculty and teaching workshops.
- UNL's Office of Academic Affairs offers workshops on tenure and promotion for new faculty.
- UNL's Office of Research offers workshops on grant writing. In addition, they have proposal editors who can help you prepare a proposal.
- UNL is a member of the Community of Science (COS). The Office of Research can help you get your information into this database, as well as show you how to use it for finding funding opportunities and already-funded proposals.
- The University's library holdings are accessed via IRIS. Most of the major journals are available online by following links on IRIS. Click on "Journal Article Indexes", then "E-G" to get to GEOREF, GEOBASE and GeoScience World
- UNL Extended Education and Outreach offers testing services, if you need to arrange an alternate date/time/location for a student to take a test. They can be contacted by phone at 472-2175, extension 7.
- Services for Students with Disabilities.
- Accommodation Resource Center can provide faculty with information about meeting student needs to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact them at 2-5852, 125 Mabel Lee Hall (city campus).
- CASNR Cares provides a single contact for parents, students, faculty and staff seeking assistance in navigating the university’s student services programs. The primary goal is to ensure that each student becomes acclimated to the campus environment, engaged in their own education and has every opportunity to be successful. It also provides a significant resource for family and faculty/staff to identify students that may need assistance in enhancing their educational experience.
- Student Employment and Career Services.
- Writing Assistance Center provides free assistance to students, staff, and faculty at UNL.
- Counseling and Psychological Services are available to students. The first 3 visits during their UNL educational career are free to those students who are enrolled in at least 7 credit hours. Beginning with the fourth visit, there will be an hourly charge.
- Health Center services available to students, staff, and faculty.
