Budget Response Implementation Leadership

In her role as senior associate to the President of the University of Nebraska, Dr. Marjorie Kostelnik led the implementation of university-wide efforts to realize efficiencies and cost reductions across service areas, while also protecting the quality of education on all four campuses of the University of Nebraska.

Marjorie has been involved in developing cross-disciplinary education programs—and new ways of organizing academic and human service efforts in higher education and the community—for more than 35 years. She has worked with many organizations as they transitioned through change—including reorganization; budget, program and staff; and adapting successfully to rapidly shifting environment.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health Related Professions, she entered the field as a Head Start teacher, then went on to receive her master’s degree and doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State, with a specialization in program design and evaluation.

Marjorie was on the faculty at Michigan State for 22 years, serving first as Program Supervisor of the Child Development Laboratories and then as chair of the Department of Family and Child Ecology. During this time, she worked with educators in 100 programs/communities inside and outside the United States developing curriculum, designing collaborative school programs, and creating whole-school discipline policies.

Marjorie came to Nebraska in 2000 as dean of the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences. In 2003, Human Resources and Family Sciences combined with Teachers College to become one of the first colleges of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) in the country. During her tenure, the college experienced strong growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollments, significant increases in scholarly/creative accomplishments among faculty and students, and rapid advancement in the college’s national rankings.

The author of more than 60 articles/chapters and 18 books, Dr. Kostelnik is also on the editorial board for several peer-reviewed journals. Locally, she serves on multiple education-related boards, and serves as a co-leader of the Prosper Lincoln early childhood working group and as co-chair of the Early Childhood Workforce Commission, sponsored by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute.

Nationally, Dr. Kostelnik has served on governing groups, associations and committees, including as vice president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and on the National Academies of Science Institute of Medicine Committee to Study the Science of Children Birth to Age 8.