Leblanc Honored for Campus Work

Lincoln -- University of Nebraska Associate Athletic Director Dennis Leblanc was honored this week, as he was selected for honorary induction into the Mortar Board Society.

Members of the organization, a national society which recognizes college seniors for distinguished ability and achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service, surprised Leblanc with induction during Friday's Intercollegiate Athletic Committee meeting.

Leblanc is in his 22nd year with the University of Nebraska Athletic Department and 18th year with the academic support program for student-athletes. He has directed NU's student-athlete academic program since 1993 and has served as Associate Athletic Director for Academic Programs and Student Services for the last six years.

“It is truly an honor anytime you are selected by students,” Leblanc said. “It is nice to be recognized with this honor, but I wouldn’t able to get honors such as this without the outstanding students that I work with everyday.”

“Dennis has been an amazing mentor to me since I’ve been here,” said Kyle Goerl, a member of the Husker track and field team and the Mortar Board Society member who nominated Leblanc for this honor. “He is always there for the students and cares about how they do athletically, but more than that, he cares about each person and their progress toward graduation and wants each student to contribute to campus, and that is why I nominated him for this award.”

“He has been a great friend for me through the SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) and is always open and honest,” Goerl said. “He stands for the three pillars of Mortar Board ?scholarship, leadership and service ? and exemplifies those traits in his work with the students on campus.”

Under Leblanc, Nebraska is the national leader in CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for football and all sports, NCAA Today’s Top Eight Award honorees and recipients of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Postgraduate Scholarship. At NU, he oversees academic certification, degree progress and all program components in addition to serving on various campus committees.

This is the second major campus award for Leblanc, who was honored in 2004 with the Chancellor’s Award for Exemplary Service to Students, which recognizes individuals who go beyond the performance of their assigned work, devoting extra time and effort in serving the needs of students.