Carroll McKibbin, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Political Science, passed away after a short illness on October 6.
After a long career at Nebraska, he served as dean at California Polytechnic State University and remained in San Luis Obispo after retiring. Carroll always maintained strong ties with Nebraska.
Alumnus John "Jack" M. Campbell Jr. established the Carroll R. McKibbin Scholarship Fund in 2008 to publicly recognize his former professor, adviser and friend, in rememberance of why Carroll's classes stood apart.
"He spiced his lectures and teaching with practical events that occurred in his own life and made it possible for us to see beyond the text and the lecture format," Campbell said.
He was a generous benefactor to the department at Nebraska, endowing awards to recognize faculty excellence in teaching and research, funding undergraduate scholarships, and subsidizing everything from the purchases of specialized statistical software to the department’s coffee maker.
One of the great satisfactions of teaching
is getting to know your students.
– Carroll McKibbin
Every fall Carroll travelled to Lincoln, and would sit in on undergraduate political science classes, take students to lunch, visit with the chair and the dean, and enjoy the department’s annual awards banquet, which he also funded. Alums enjoyed returning every fall to reconnect with him at the banquet, and he regularly corresponded with members of the department between visits.
"His humor, warmth and sense of curiosity, interest and support about all things UNL is going to be sorely missed," Kevin Smith, professor and chair of the deparment, said.
