Michelle W. Trawick, Ph.D., the new John Becker Dean of the University of Nebraska Omaha’s (UNO) College of Business Administration and Professor of Economics, has won numerous awards for teaching, research, and student advising during her nearly 25 years in higher education. She has spent more than a decade immersed in higher education administration advancing the success of students, faculty, and staff. Before joining UNO in February 2020, Michelle spent nearly 20 years at Western Kentucky University (WKU), just miles from the farm on which she was raised.Thank you to Sue Kutschkau for sponsoring Michelle to Rotary. Welcome, Michelle!
A first-generation college student herself, she is keenly aware of the critical role education plays in advancing our personal and community goals. At WKU, she worked her way through the ranks, starting as an assistant professor and then moving into administrative roles as Chair of the Economics Department, Associate Dean for Faculty and Administration in the Gordon Ford College of Business, and WKU Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Excellence. Michelle completed her B.A. in Economics at Western Kentucky University and then earned both her Ph.D. and Master of Economics from North Carolina State University. She and her husband, Mark, have a nineteen-year-old son, Nathan, a freshman at the University of Kentucky. Both Michelle and Mark are excited to be in the Omaha community and can’t wait to explore the city more when the pandemic ends.
