Suzanne Ortega, PhD, past president of the Council of Graduate Schools, will present the second annual Bob and Helen Bartee and Family Advocacy of Science Lectureship on Sept. 11. Dr. Ortega’s noon presentation – titled “Why Context Matters: Science For, With and In Community” – will be in the Maurer Center for Public Health, Room 3013, on the Omaha campus.
“I am excited to welcome Dr. Ortega to UNMC,” said Bob Bartee, vice chancellor emeritus for external relations at UNMC. “In her work at the Council of Graduate Schools and throughout her career, she has shown herself to be a staunch advocate for research and education. I look forward to hearing her insights on how to reach out and let people know about the importance of science in everyday lives.”
The event also will include awarding the Bartee Advocacy of Science Award, for exceptional community engagement by a scientist, to Ann Anderson-Berry, MD, PhD, who joined the UNMC faculty in 2004. Dr. Anderson-Berry holds multiple roles, including executive director of the Child Health Research Institute, vice chair of research in the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, UNMC Division Chief of Neonatology and Sparks Chair of Pediatric Research.
Dr. Anderson-Berry has led CHRI since fall 2019, first as its interim executive director and then, in fall 2021, as executive director. The Casper, Wyoming, native completed her residency at UNMC in 2001.
“It is a profound honor to receive the Bartee Advocacy for Science Award,” Dr. Anderson-Berry said. “I have been fortunate to have Mr. Bartee as mentor and thoughtful guide in my own advocacy work. Keeping the end goal of a healthier Nebraska in constant sight, as he always has, will help us all communicate the importance of continued investment and trust in science. This is a message that couldn’t be more imperative today.”
Said Bartee, “Dr. Anderson-Berry is an outstanding choice for the Bartee Advocacy of Science Award. Her work at CHRI puts her at the forefront of maintaining and improving the health of Nebraska’s infants and youth, and she has proven a stalwart champion for the health of our state’s children.”
Dr. Ortega served as the Council of Graduate Schools president from July 2014 to June 2025. The Council of Graduate Schools is the leading national organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research. During her tenure, Dr. Ortega significantly expanded the organization’s portfolio of research and best practice initiatives in graduate education.
Dr. Ortega, who holds master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Vanderbilt University, is the author or co-author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and an introductory sociology text, now in its eighth edition.
An award-winning teacher, she has served on review panels for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on grants totaling more than $21 million in state, federal and private foundation funds. Dr. Ortega has served on a number of professional association boards and committees, including the Graduate Record Exam, the National Academies of Science Committee on Revitalizing Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century and the National Science Foundation’s Human Resources Expert Panel
The Bob and Helen Bartee and Family Lectureship and Award annually invite a recognized expert to UNMC to provide a lecture and engage with UNMC faculty and students on topics related to making science relevant, creating ways for scientists to engage with the community and build science literacy and trust in scientific rigor and results.
Lunch will be provided for the first 50 attendees.
What a fantastic guest! I was lucky enough to take a sociology survey class taught by Dr. Ortega at UNL during the 1988 Fall Semester. It was my first-ever course taught in an auditorium — Dr. Ortega apparently had a memorable & positive impact on me, and I am sure, a bunch of other small-town Nebraska kids.
What a wonderful lectureship series- thank you to the Bartee family for your lasting contributions to the UNMC community! Looking forward to Dr. Ortega’s visit!