The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department is proud to announce Stephen Rohman as the recipient of the 2008-09 Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award. Rohman will be presented with the award on the field at the 2008 Spring Football Game on April 19.
A fan of several Nebraska sports, Rohman has been actively involved with women's athletics for many years, particularly the women's golf team. In 2007, he endowed the Beatrice Dierks Rohman Memorial Scholarship, established in his grandmother's honor, at more than $100,000, to help support an outstanding member of the Husker women's golf team.
Rohman's grandmother, Beatrice, was a standout golfer, winning state championships in 1933 and 1935, and was the runner-up in 1934. She went on to serve on both the Board of Directors for the Trans-Mississippi Tournament and the USGA Juniors Committee for several years, and was the first golf instructor in the state of Nebraska to tutor girls in the sport. She was also an accomplished tennis player, and held a college degree, an accomplishment few of her peers achieved.
"I'm not much for personal recognition, but in this case, I wanted to accept this award to honor my grandmother and help bring some light to the things she accomplished," Rohman said.
"It's only fitting that Stephen be awarded this honor," Head Women's Golf Coach Robin Krapfl said. "His grandmother was a Trailblazer in our sport. Now, because of his generous support, including having our first ever scholarship endowed in her name, young women will be given opportunities to follow in her footsteps in the future."
In addition to his generous gifts to the women's golf program, he also gives annually to the Match Club, which supports the volleyball team. He is a member of the Director's Club, which supports all of Nebraska's 23 sports, and the Rebounders Club for men's basketball.
"Stephen is a true friend to women's athletics at Nebraska," Athletic Director Tom Osborne said. "We are grateful for his support of our women's athletics programs, and salute him for his focus not just on athletics, but on the academic success of our female student-athletes on the women's golf team. We are proud to be able to honor his gifts to Nebraska Athletics."
The Rohman family has been one of the most generous families to the University of Nebraska, particularly in the area of the arts. The family has donated more than 60 pieces of art to the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and assisted with the acquisition of several more for the Nebraska Art Association and the University of Nebraska, including the well-known "Torn Notebook" sculpture at the edge of the campus. They serve as the namesake of first permanent exhibition at the Sheldon, the Rohman Gallery, which houses several of the pieces they have donated to the museum.
Stephen is currently the president of Service Investment, a business management firm. Prior to accepting that position, he was the president of Uniservice, Inc., a textile rental service company. The company was originally founded as Sanitary Towel and Laundry in 1908 by Stephen's grandfather, Carl, and great-uncle, George, and was re-named by Stephen's father, Carl, in 1967, when he became the company's president.
The Trailblazer Award was first given in 2000 to honor outstanding support and generous contributions to women's athletics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2007, it was renamed the Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award in honor of Dr. Barbara Hibner, a longtime member of the Nebraska Athletic Department and inaugural recipient of the award, who passed away on March 7, 2007.
Past winners of the award, in addition to Hibner, are the Raimondi family in 2001-02, Ione Bowlin in 2002-03, the Betty Geis family in 2003-04, Carol Frost in 2004-05, Pinnacle Sports Productions in 2005-06, Dr. Joanne Owens Nauslar in 2006-07 and current head softball coach Rhonda Revelle in 2007-08.
JoAnn Martin to Receive Hibner Trailblazer Award