An athletic director, a gas company CEO, a political consultant, a plant breeder, an art promoter, a principal architect, an advertising agency head and a real estate tax consultant represent the outstanding alumni whose success and insight into their careers will be shared person-to-person with students at UNL during its annual Masters Week.

Each fall since 1964, UNL has celebrated the work of outstanding alumni who have shown great promise, success and leadership in their chosen fields by inviting these individuals back to campus as part of Masters Week. This year Masters Week is being celebrated Nov. 5-8. Masters are Barry Alvarez, Joseph Bryant, Jim Crounse, Tom Hoegemeyer, William Howard, Scott Killinger, Daniel Nelson and Fred Witt.

Masters return to campus and spend their time interacting with students, sharing their career experience, visiting classrooms, and helping students build successful careers. Masters Week is sponsored by the Innocents Society, Mortar Board, Alumni Association and the chancellor’s office. Visit www.huskeralum.com/programs/masters/index for more information.

2008 masters are:

Barry Alvarez, ’69, ’70, director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also served as the head football coach at Wisconsin from 1990 to 2005. The Badgers have enjoyed remarkable athletic success during his tenure as AD, winning a combined eight national team titles and 19 Big Ten regular-season or tournament crowns. Alvarez will be hosted by the College of Education and Human Sciences.

Joseph H. Bryant, ’77, chairman and chief executive officer of Cobalt International Energy, L.P., a private oil and gas exploration and production company he founded in 2005. Cobalt focuses on the deepwater Gulf of Mexico as well as other potential significant offshore basins in West Africa. Bryant will be hosted by the College of Engineering.

Jim Crounse, ’75, partner at the Mack/Crounse Group, one of the pre-eminent direct mail consulting firms in the Democratic Party. In his 30-year political career serving on Capitol Hill and as a consultant, Crounse has helped elect many of the key figures in the Democratic Party. Crounse will be hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Tom Hoegemeyer, ’70, chief technology officer for Hoegemeyer Hybrids, a family seed company founded by his grandfather in 1937. Hoegemeyer grew up helping with the business and working on the family farm in the integrated general crops and livestock operation. Today, his reputation as one of the most innovative and well-respected plant breeders in the seed industry makes Hoegemeyer Hybrids a major player in the western Corn Belt. Hoegemeyer will be hosted by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

William “Billy” Howard, ’92, owner and operator of Howard House Contemporary Art in Seattle. Howard House is dedicated to representing national, international and local emerging artists as well as the estate of Robert Sperry. Howard is an accomplished marketer and speaker and has been very active with many aspects of the Seattle arts community. He will be hosted by the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Scott W. Killinger, ’61, the founding principal of Kuang Xing International Design and Planning, an architecture, landscape and planning firm based in Beijing, China. Kuang Xing also supports a design studio in Tianjin, China, for UNL students. He has more than 40 years experience in the planning and design of new communities, mixed-use residential projects, waterfront development projects and campus master plans. Killinger will be hosted by the College of Architecture.

Daniel H. Nelson, ’69, chief executive officer of Nelson Schmidt, a full-service marketing communications, advertising and public relations agency specializing in business-to-business clients. The Nelson Schmidt enterprise consists of three companies, employs approximately 55 people and has $79 million in capitalized billings. It is ranked as one of the top 100 business-to-business agencies in America by B2B Magazine. Nelson will be hosted by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Fred Witt, ’79, a principal with Deloitte Tax LLP, a global professional services firm with 165,000 employees in 142 countries and fiscal 2008 revenues of $27 billion. Witt works in the National Real Estate Tax Services group providing tax-consulting services to the real estate industry, including the tax aspects of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of real estate. Witt is hosted by the College of Law and the College of Business Administration.