On October 29th, 2014, the Political Science Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln held an awards ceremony to honor the first-ever winners of the Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Teaching and Research awards.
The awards were funded by Carroll R. McKibbin, a former chair of the Political Science Department, and his wife Lynn. Carroll and Lynn have been generous supporters of both the Department of Political Science and the University for a number of years. Carroll made the official presentation of the awards.
Professor John Hibbing was the recipient of the Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Teaching Award and Assistant Professor Courtney Hillebrecht was the recipient of the Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Research Award.
The Political Science Department’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee selected Professor Hibbing for the Distinguished Teaching Award in recognition of his excellence in teaching.
One member of the Undergraduate Advisory Committee, junior Sarah Applegate, stated that the awards ceremony was a “wonderful opportunity to recognize two professors who are making a difference in not only their respective interest areas but also their students’ lives.”
Professor Hibbing had the following to say about his accolade:
“Because of his work on congressional careers, even before coming to Nebraska I was aware of Carroll McKibbin’s scholarship. When I arrived in 1981, Carroll had already left but he remained a central and much loved part of the history of the Department of Political Science at UNL. And now, through his generosity, Carroll’s contributions have been multiplied. For these reasons and others, I am deeply honored to receive a teaching award named after Carroll McKibbin.”
Assistant Professor Courtney Hillebrecht was selected by the Political Science Faculty Executive Committee to receive Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Research Award. This award was given in recognition of her excellence in research during her time at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and in particular, her new book, titled Domestic Politics and International Human Rights Tribunals: The Problem of Compliance (Cambridge University Press 2014).
Assistant Professor Hillebrecht said about her award, “I feel very honored to have received the first Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Research Award. I truly appreciate Carroll McKibbin’s support of our department, as well as the tremendous support I’ve received from my colleagues. The political science department here at UNL is an exciting place to be, and I count myself lucky to be part of it!”
Faculty in the Political Science Department also expressed how meaningful it was to receive this gift from Carroll and Lynn McKibbin. The Department is grateful to the McKibbin’s for their continued support and generosity, and wishes to congratulate Professor Hibbing and Assistant Professor Hillebrecht on their much-deserved awards.
