University of Nebraska - Kearney (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney Alumni Association will honor alumni award recipients during the University of Nebraska at Kearney Homecoming festivities that will take place Oct. 10-11.
The 2025 UNK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Awards go to Fr. Jim Cassidy (1972), Geoffrey Hall (1983), Merle A. Hinrich (1965, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 1996) and Larry Keiter (1986). The Jim Rundstrom Distinguished Alumni Service Award recipients are Arlen (1984) and Nancy (Yurges) Osterbuhr (1995) and the Distinguished Young Alumnus Award will go to Rustin Dring (2011).
The 45th Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards will be given out during a luncheon on Friday, Oct. 10, at 11:30 a.m. in the Gala Room in the Regional Engagement Center, 2204 University Drive, Kearney. Tickets are $30 per person ($35 starting Sept. 27), $15 for children ages 12 and under, and can be purchased until Oct. 1 at unkalumni.org/homecoming or by calling the UNK Alumni Association at 308-698-5271.
The Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, in the Gala Room in the Regional Engagement Center with a social hour. A dinner follows at 6:15 p.m. with five former student-athletes and one physician being inducted into the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame. To purchase a ticket for the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet, visit unkalumni.org/homecoming by Oct. 1. Tickets are $40 per person ($45 starting Sept. 27), $15 for children ages 12 & under. Information on the inductees is available at lopers.com.
On Saturday, Oct. 11, the day kicks off with the annual homecoming parade in downtown Kearney at 10:00 a.m. Following the parade, alumni and community members are invited to attend the free Loper Alumni Tailgate, at Cope Stadium near Mantor Hall starting at noon. The tailgate area is open until the 2:00 p.m. UNK football game kickoff against Missouri Western State.
To purchase tickets and see a complete list of weekend activities, contact the UNK Alumni Association at 308-698-5271 or visit unkalumni.org/homecoming.
Distinguished Alumni Awards
Father Jim Cassidy, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Fr. Jim Cassidy (1972)
Father Jim Cassidy earned a degree in education from Kearney State College in 1972 before completing a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in 1979. After his ordination, he was assigned to pastoral responsibilities in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. In the early 1980s, he started his 35-year career as the spiritual care coordinator for the Allina Health Hospice Program, while also simultaneously serving the Church of St. Joan of Arc—a role he continues to hold. During this time, Cassidy and a colleague developed and led support initiatives for individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, a then newly identified illness.
In 2000, following a trip to South Africa, Cassidy founded Arm in Arm in Africa (aiaia.org), a nonprofit dedicated to improving lives of individuals in post-apartheid South Africa. He served as president and chair for 25 years and is now the chair emeritus and lead fundraiser. The mission of Arm in Arm in Africa is to establish and support local partnerships that create access to food, health care and education in both the townships and rural areas of South Africa. A U.S. mission delegation travels to South Africa annually to evaluate and develop the relationship, with Cassidy participating each year for 25 years.
Cassidy’s efforts have been recognized with several honors, including the Allina Health Award of Excellence and the Rainbow Education and Skills Program (Gugulethu Township, South Africa) Certificate of Appreciation.
A Fairmont, Nebraska, native and Fairmont High School graduate, Cassidy resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Geoff Hall, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Geoffrey Hall (1983)
Geoff Hall of Fremont, Nebraska, began his career as a teacher at Chase County High School before earning his Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law in 1988.
He practiced law in both public and private sectors for more than 20 years in Kansas City, Omaha, Blair and Tekamah. In 2011, Hall was appointed judge of the District Court, 6th Judicial District—a role he continues to hold.
Hall received the Nebraska Supreme Court Distinguished Judge Award in 2020 and the Creighton University School of Law American Jurisprudence Award. He also completed a fellowship with the Nebraska State Bar Foundation.
He has served on the Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors; the Blair and Tekamah chambers of commerce boards; the UNK Alumni Association Board of Directors; and as a mock trial and youth sports coach.
An Omaha native and graduate of Omaha Paul VI High School, Hall earned a degree in education from Kearney State College in 1983.
Merle Hinrich, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Merle A. Hinrich (1964, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 1996)
Merle A. Hinrich has dedicated his 60-year career to catalyzing trade. He was founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Global Sources, whose flagship magazine, Asian Sources, launched in 1971. It became the lead resource connecting American and European importers with exporters across East Asia.
In the mid-1990s, Hinrich moved Asian Sources’ substantial networks online, transforming the company into an e-commerce giant that listed on NASDAQ in 2000. Since selling Global Sources in 2017, Hinrich has been chairman of the philanthropic Hinrich Foundation he founded in 2012 and continues to advance sustainability in global trade.
Hinrich’s charitable work beyond his foundation includes serving as an international board member of the Weizmann Institute of Science, is an active supporter of the Asia Philanthropy Circle and Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum and was recognized with the National Heritage Board’s award in 2023. He was also the co-founder and former chair of The Society of Hong Kong Publishers and an investment promotion ambassador with Invest Hong Kong.
Hinrich graduated from Hastings High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Kearney State College in 1964. He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1996 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is also a 1965 graduate of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Hinrich resides in Singapore.
Larry Keiter, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Larry Keiter (1986)
Larry Keiter of Lincoln, Nebraska, is an executive coach, author, speaker and owner of Larry Keiter Coaching. Through his business, he provides executive coaching and organizational development services to both local and national companies. He is a Gallup Certified Clifton Strengths Coach and Certified Korn Ferry Leadership Coach. He is set to publish two books in 2026.
He began his career as a store and district manager for Walmart, helping expand the company’s presence in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa during his two decades with the company. He later served as second vice president of talent strategy at Ameritas for 14 years before launching his coaching business in 2022.
Keiter currently serves on the University of Nebraska at Kearney College of Business and Technology Dean’s Leadership Council and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Clifton Strengths Institute board. He is also a member of Rotary, where he was recognized as the Rookie of the Year for 2024-2025. Keiter is a past member and board chair of the Nebraska Retail Federation and was named an admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska.
A native of Hartington, Nebraska, native and graduate of Hartington Cedar Catholic High School, Keiter earned his degree in business administration with a minor in finance from Kearney State College in 1986. He also has a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management from Regis University and completed the Walton Institute of Retailing’s Advanced Leadership Strategies program.
Arlen and Nancy Osterbuhr, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Jim Rundstrom Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Arlen (1984) and Nancy (Yurges) Osterbuhr (1995)
Arlen and Nancy Osterbuhr of Minden, Nebraska, are longtime supporters of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the UNK Alumni Association. Both have served on the alumni association’s board of directors and volunteered in various roles. Arlen is active with the Loper Football Backers and UNK College of Business and Technology Dean’s Leadership Council. Nancy is a past UNKAA Gold Torch Society mentor and served on the UNKAA Outstanding Senior Awards committee.
Arlen has been with Minden Exchange Bank & Trust Co. since 1990 and currently serves as the chief executive officer and board chair. He holds leadership roles with the Nebraska Bankers Association, Minden Chamber of Commerce, Minden Optimist Club and Minden Community Redevelopment Authority. He is a former member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Community Banking, American Bankers Association Government Relations Council, Kearney County Community Foundation, and Minden City Council, among others.
Nancy spent 20 years in mortgage lending with First National Bank in Kearney and is now retired. She currently works as a substitute teacher for Minden Public Schools and Axtell Community School.
A graduate of Leadership Kearney, she is a TeamMates mentor and has served on the boards of the Minden Opera House, Junior Achievement and Habitat for Humanity. She has also been a 4-H club leader and member of the Kearney County 4-H Council.
The Osterbuhrs are active members of St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Arlen, a Minden, Nebraska, native and Minden High School graduate, earned a business administration degree with an emphasis in management from Kearney State College in 1984. He also graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado. Nancy, a Bertrand, Nebraska, native and Bertrand Community School graduate, earned her business administration degree from UNK in 1995.
Rustin Dring, (UNK Alumni Association, Courtesy)
Distinguished Young Alumnus Award
Rustin Dring (2011)
Rustin Dring of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is the chief executive officer of Garmat USA, a manufacturer of precision-engineered paint booths and refinish equipment headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. He has held this position since 2023.
A seasoned global executive, Dring previously served as president for Markforged in Massachusetts, as well as president and in other senior leadership positions with Enerpac Tool Group in Wisconsin, Australia and Singapore. While with Enerpac, he led the AsiaPacific business unit during a four-year expatriate assignment. He began his career following graduation with Eaton Corporation in Oregon.
Dring received a Bachelor of Science in industrial distribution from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2011. He also holds an MBA from Creighton University. Dring is a native of Kearney, Nebraska, and a Kearney High School graduate.
Additional alumni award recipients will be announced through August 15.
2025 Homecoming Alumni Events
Friday, October 10
11:00 a.m. Loper Gridiron Club Golf Tournament (Kearney Country Club)
11:30 a.m. Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon (Regional Engagement Center, Gala Room)
2:30 p.m. Chemistry Department’s Dr. Don Fox Lecture (Copeland Hall, Room 131)
3:30 p.m. One Room, One Teacher Induction Ceremony (College of Education Atrium)
5:30 p.m. Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet (Regional Engagement Center, Gala Room)
6:00 p.m. ROTC Alumni Social (American Legion)
Saturday, October 11
7:30 a.m. UNK Pride of the Plains Alumni Band (Fine Arts Building)
10:00 a.m. Homecoming Parade (Downtown Kearney)
Noon Loper Alumni Tailgate (Cope Stadium, Foster Field near Mantor Hall)
2:00 p.m. UNK Football vs. Missouri Western State (Cope Stadium, Foster Field)
6:00 p.m. ROTC Alumni Banquet (Younes Conference Center South)
A full schedule of events and ticket information can be found at unkalumni.org/homecoming and unk.edu/offices/student_life/homecoming.
