Interim Chancellor Charlie Bicak presents the Leland Holdt/Security Mutual Life Distinguished Faculty Award to UNK professor Brooke Envick during Friday’s winter commencement ceremony at the Health and Sports Center on campus. (Christine Matrangos/Ceremony Photos)
KEARNEY – Her colleagues at the University of Nebraska at Kearney call her a “dream hire” who “truly embodies the meaning of being a teacher-scholar.”
The students she’s taught describe her as enthusiastic, caring and knowledgeable – the “best teacher I’ve ever had here.”
Brooke Envick was recognized Friday with the Leland Holdt/Security Mutual Life Distinguished Faculty Award, the university’s most prestigious faculty honor. Named after UNK alumnus Leland Holdt, the annual award is presented during winter commencement to an individual who demonstrates excellence in teaching, research and service. It comes with a $5,000 stipend.
A UNK alumna, Envick earned a bachelor’s degree in management and master’s degree in business administration, then completed a doctorate in organizational behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She taught at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, for nearly 20 years before returning to Kearney in 2017 and becoming the third generation of her family to teach at UNK.
Currently, she’s a professor in the Department of Management, an associate dean of engagement and retention and an associate dean of faculty and strategic initiatives.
“When Dr. Envick agreed to join the CBT leadership team, I can honestly tell you I was thrilled,” stated Tim Jares, dean of the UNK College of Business and Technology. “She is thoughtful and hardworking and will work tirelessly to help our students have a better future.”
As a teacher, Envick emphasizes active learning and innovation, engaging students in the knowledge-construction process. Her classes often include experiential learning exercises that encourage student engagement and development. For example, students created their own board games in her Creativity and Innovation course and they generate growth plans for small businesses in the Small Business Management class.
“Her students have praised her ability to expand on class material by bringing in examples of real-world applications. She also does a great job of connecting with her students and making the material enjoyable to learn,” noted Kyle Luthans, a professor and chair in the Department of Management.
Their course evaluations support this statement.
“Professor Envick is really good about getting students to engage. The concept of the class is different and very innovative, so I was nervous about it because I don’t see myself as creative. She made me excited to come to class and speak up about my ideas,” one student wrote.
“She does a great job of applying the information to the real world. She is very knowledgeable about the stuff she teaches us. She also is very passionate about the subjects she teaches. I wish she taught more of my classes,” another remarked.
Envick has received numerous teaching accolades during her career, including the UNK College of Business and Technology Outstanding Teaching Award and the Outstanding Educator Award for Innovative and Creative Teaching from the Academy of Educational Leadership. She also supports students as an undergraduate research mentor and supervisor for graduate-level capstone projects.
With a focus on entrepreneurship and small business management, Envick’s research complements her classroom instruction. She has more than 30 peer-reviewed journal publications, and her research has been cited over 800 times.
Envick served as an editorial review board member for the Global Journal of Entrepreneurship and Journal of Organizational Leadership and as a reviewer for the Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology. She’s presented at numerous conferences and received multiple Distinguished Research Awards from the Institute of Global Business Research and Academy of Entrepreneurship. Her work was featured in
UNK’s New Frontiers magazine highlighting the best research and creative activity on campus in 2022.
“Dr. Envick’s track record in scholarship is just as impressive as her exceptional teaching. The fact that many of her articles grew from projects in her classes clearly illustrates how important the teacher-scholar model has been in guiding her career and how foundational it is to her as a professional,” Jares stated.
Envick is a member of the University of Nebraska’s “Developing Excellence in Academic Leaders” program and she serves on a variety of committees at both the campus and system levels, including the NU President’s Excellence Awards Committee, UNK Enrollment Steering Committee and UNK chancellor search committee.
“If every faculty member in CBT, or at UNK, displayed her level of energy and commitment, the sky would surely be the limit for us,” Jares commented.
