Alumni Excellence Award Set For April 14

Peru, Nebraska – Peru State College and the Foundation initiated a new recognition program in 2019 with the inaugural Thousand Oaks Alumni Excellence Awards. The second, 2020 class was selected and preparations made….

            …and then COVID happened. For recipients Jack Moles (’80), Lori (Vrtiska) Seibel (’84), Alec Gorynski (’07) and the late Pat Haverty (’08), 2020 and 2021 passed with no awards ceremony thanks to the pandemic.

The four will at last be honored on the Peru State campus on Thursday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). It is open to the public and will be held in conjunction with Peru State's Research and Creativity Expo. A reception will follow in the PAC Lobby.

Thousand Oaks Alumni Excellence Awards recognize outstanding alumni from the School of Education, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Professional Studies, and Graduate Programs.

Recipients have demonstrated exceptional service to the College or community and/or demonstrated outstanding achievement in their career or their community. Alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the College may nominate alumni for this award using the form found on the peru.edu website; Alumni tab, search for Thousand Oaks Alumni Award.

Jack Moles, Class of 1980

A long and distinguished career in Nebraska education continues for Jack Moles, currently Executive Director of the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association. 

Moles began his career with the Bartley, NE Public Schools as a teacher and coach before adding administrative duties. He was high school and junior high principal at Arapahoe before spending a year as Superintendent for Amherst Public Schools, then 22 years as superintendent of the Nemaha Valley Schools and Johnson County Central Public Schools.

Now residing in Lincoln, Moles leads the NRCSA as it represents 199 school districts with more than 86,000 students, along with Educational Service Units and state colleges. NRCSA supports and promotes quality education programs for students in rural Nebraska.

As the group's Executive Director, Moles provides a direct voice in legislative matters, promotes active involvement of rural schools in state and national educational policy and program issues, and is the group’s liaison with the Nebraska Department of Education, among other duties. 

Lori (Vrtiska) Seibel, Class of 1984 

Early in her career, Lori (Vrtiska) Seibel was the epidemiologist for the City of Lincoln, NE, where she resides. She eventually transitioned, within city government, to serving as an assistant to two Lincoln mayors. 

In 1998 she was appointed the first President and CEO of the then-new Community Health Endowment of Lincoln (CHE). CHE was formed from the proceeds of the nearly $38 million sale of the former Lincoln General Hospital. 

Since then, CHE has grown to nearly $80 million, and, in addition, returned nearly $40 million in grants and awards to achieve CHE’s vision of making Lincoln “the healthiest community in the nation.” CHE invests in health-related projects and programs and convenes the community around important health issues. 

The native of Table Rock, NE has a masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the daughter of the late Sen. Floyd and Doris (Wagner ’47) Vrtiska, who hold a special place in Peru State College history.

Alec Gorynski, Class of 2007

Alec Gorynski (’07) recently joined the Lincoln (NE) Community Foundation as its President & Chief Executive Officer. Throughout his career, Gorynski has led efforts to maximize community impact through philanthropy, planning, and collaboration.

His more than 15 years of experience working across private, nonprofit, and government sectors includes most recently as the Vice President of Community Development and Corporate Philanthropy for First National Bank of Omaha, and as President of the First National Community Development Corporation.

Previous roles include Vice President of Regional Community Affairs for Bank of the West. and Deputy Grant Administrator in the Omaha Mayor’s Office. Born and raised in Lincoln, Gorynski obtained his bachelors degree in psychology and criminal justice at Peru State, and his masters from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Gorynski will lead the LCF through its next chapter and generation of growth and impact. The Lincoln Community Foundation has a long history of facilitating philanthropic partnerships for the benefit of Lincoln, and for leading the efforts to transform the community through its community leaderships initiatives such as Prosper Lincoln. 

Patrick Haverty, Class of 2008

Pat Haverty (masters ’08) left a big mark wherever he went. Tragically, his upward path was cut short when he passed away in September 2020. He will be represented by family at the awards ceremony.

Haverty was Vice President for the Lincoln, NE Partnership for Economic Development when he died. The Partnership works to support the Lincoln business community through development, retention, expansion, entrepreneurship, and talent strategy.

Haverty previously served as executive as executive director of the Nebraska City Economic Development group from 2005-2009, and as the city administrator for Nebraska City from 2009-2011.

He attended Peru State as an undergraduate, playing football for the Bobcats, before he transferred. Haverty returned to obtain his masters in 2008, and he served as an adjunct instructor for the College from 2009 until his passing.

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