Concordia Foundation Nebraska elects directors, officers
The Concordia University, Nebraska Board of Regents elected four new members to the Concordia Foundation Nebraska, a group that supports fundraising, outreach and strategic planning initiatives of the university.
The newly elected Foundation members are John Jurchen of Seward, Neb., Jean Petsch, of Milford, Neb., Mike Thomas of Shawnee, Kan., and Jill Wild of Seward, Neb. They began their three-year terms on Jan. 1, 2014.
Current directors re-elected to another term include Roger Glawatz, Seward, Neb.; William Hartmann, Seward, Neb.; Kendell Holthus, York, Neb.; Chris Kingery, Lincoln, Neb., and Stan Obermueller, Seward, Neb.
Board officers for Concordia Foundation Nebraska have also been elected. Paul Peter, a partner at Keating O’Gara Nedved & Peter law firm in Lincoln, Neb., was elected chair and William “Bill” Kernen, former CFO of the Omaha World-Herald, was elected as vice chair. Roger Glawatz, former mayor of Seward, and former State Sen. Elaine Stuhr, who represented the 24th District of the Nebraska Legislature from 1995 to 2007, were named to the Foundation’s executive committee.
John Jurchen is a professor of chemistry at Concordia. He received a bachelor’s degree in education and chemistry from Concordia. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, Calif., and conducted post-doctoral training at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He joined the faculty at Concordia in 2005 upon completion of an individual National Research Service Award sponsored postdoctoral fellowship in analytical neurochemistry. Jurchen was the recipient of Concordia’s 2013 Outstanding Teacher Award.
Jean Petsch is the executive director and CEO of Associated General Contractors-Nebraska Building Chapter. Her experience in higher education includes serving as a business management and accounting instructor at Bellevue University, College of St. Mary, Peru State College and Southeast Community College-Milford Campus, as well as working as the coordinator of continuing education at SCC. Petsch is a board member of the Executive Leadership Council-AGC of America, a past member of the Milford Public Schools’ Board of Education and a past president of Adult and Continuing Education Association of Nebraska.
Mike Thomas is the vice president of retail operations for Hallmark Corporation, where he began in 1983 as an account manager. He assumed his current position in 2006 and is responsible for all retail operational support systems and services for 2,800 unit Hallmark Gold Crown Retail stores, including 400 corporately owned and operated stores. Thomas is a high school basketball official, a Sunday school teacher and a Haiti mission team member. He serves on the Board of Directors of Kansas City Junior Achievement and on the United Way Red Feather Leadership Council.
A Seward, Neb., resident, Jill Wild served as a regent at Concordia University, Nebraska from 2010 until finishing her term this August. Wild is an owner of Wild Chiropractic and Acupuncture, a Seward Chamber of Commerce board member and a Helping Hands Kiwanis board member. She is also active in the Seward County Young Professional Group, the Seward Youth and Community Club and is a Nebraska diplomat.
