Johnson receives Friend Award from Great Plains IDEA

20 Apr 2016     By Carol Hockersmith, Great Plains IDEA

Julie Johnson, emeritus professor and former chair in Child, Youth and Family Studies, was awarded the 2016 Friend of the Great Plains IDEA Award. Johnson received the award for her work building online, inter-institutional degrees, especially an online master’s for Family and Consumer Sciences educators.

The honor came at the annual meeting of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) April 18, 2016, in Kansas City, Missouri. Johnson has actively addressed the shortage of Family and Consumer Sciences Education teachers for the past 17 years. She guided development of business plan, syllabi, handbooks, and marketing for the 2004 launch of the Family and Consumer Sciences Education master’s program offered through the Great Plains IDEA.

UNL colleague Sheree Moser nominated Johnson for the award and said, “When developing the program of study, she made sure we included rigor, relevance and value into the program, so it would be comparable to any teacher preparation program.”

Richard J. Bischoff, who now chairs the same UNL department as did Johnson, said, “She quickly caught the vision of the consortium and promoted that vision…back when the idea of universities working together seemed preposterous.”

The Great Plains IDEA brings together faculty from accredited universities to offer high-quality, online academic programs cost-effectively. The University of Nebraska participates in eight human sciences programs and six agriculture programs through the Great Plains IDEA. Eighteen accredited member institutions and two accredited affiliate institutions share responsibilities to offer 20 online degrees and certificates. To take part in the inter-institutional programs, a student chooses one partner university as a home institution for enrollment, transcript and graduation.