Riedesel Fellows

The generosity of Dr. Charles Riedesel, or as his friends know him, Chuck, and his wife Laureen Riedesel is legend to those who know them. They not only raised a family in Beatrice, NE, but they also helped raise local, state-wide, national, and international communities through their professional work and consummate participation in the life of the public. 

Chuck worked as Chief Undergraduate Advisor for Computer Science and Engineering and taught courses in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Laureen served as the Beatrice Public Library director for over 40 years. 

Beyond their impressive professional careers, Chuck and Laureen serve their communities by volunteering their time where they can, when they can. Laureen, for instance, serves on the board of the Friends of Homestead National Historic Park, the board of the Gage County Historical Society and Museum, the board of the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Center(Wymore), and Salem Church Preservation Society (Kearney County). She also served as president of the Nebraska Library Association and of the Nebraska Center for the Book. She was added to the prestigious National Advocacy Honor Roll of the American Library Trustee Association in 2020. In 2022, Laureen was selected to be Grand Marshal of the Homestead Days Parade in Beatrice due to her steadfast commitment to ensuring that local history is preserved, shared, and understood. Laureen also finds time to support scholars working on manuscripts, as she did for Jonathan Fairchild's Planted in the Soil: The Homestead Act, Nebraska Homesteaders, and the 19th Century. If you're lucky you may even catch Laureen giving talks as a member of the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau for Nebraska history in venues across the state.

Some of Chuck's volunteer work, like Laureen's, aims to primarily support education in the state and beyond. For example, Chuck has served on numerous working groups of the Association of Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group for Computer Science Education (ACM-SIGSCE) and worked on the Nebraska chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA). He has also been a member of the IEEE Computer Society and the American Society for Engineering Education. Chuck served as the UNL site administrator for North Central North America (NCNA) Region of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) for many years in addition to coaching eight of UNL’s teams to the World Finals and continues to serve as a director for the NCNA which takes him regularly to the national and world finals. His efforts at the university have not gone unnoticed. Chuck is a 5 time recipient of the Certificate of Recognition for Contributions to Students and 6 time recipient of Certificate of Achievement for his coaching. In addition, Chuck has received the Students Choice Outstanding Teaching Award (2006 - 2007), the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Department (2005 - 2006), the Chancellor's Award for Exemplary Service to Students (2005), and in 2008 and 2009 his efforts were recognized with the University's James V. Griesen Exemplary Service to Students Award. Beyond his clearly stellar teaching and learning work, Chuck has contributed to computer science scholarship--you can see a list of his publications here. At home in Beatrice, Chuck now serves on the board for Beatrice Public Schools. He is a long-time treasurer for Kiwanis and for his church, as well as being the organist.

Always paying it forward, Chuck and Laureen established awards like the Riedesel Excellence in Advising Award and continue to contribute to the foundations that maintain a steady drive toward the success of Nebraska and the people who call the state home. We are very grateful for Chuck and Laureen's support without which our work at the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility would have likely ended in 2022. Through the Riedesel Fellows program we are able to continue their mission to strengthen the many communities that compose Nebraska through programming that brings individuals from all walks of life together to think about, discuss, and advocate for policies that positively affect our lives as Nebraskans and recognize our dignity as persons.  This page is dedicated to highlighting the fellows and our work.