UNL professor appointed to Nelnet's board of directors
Posted: Wednesday, November 21, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Nelnet Inc. has added a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor to its board of directors.
Kathleen Farrell, an associate professor of finance at UNL, was named to the nine-member board late last month.
Nelnet, which makes and services student loans, has had a school lender partnership with UNL since 2004.
Nelnet spokesman Ben Kiser said that under the agreement, the school can act as a lender to its graduate students, then Nelnet buys and services the loans.
That arrangement had no bearing on the selection of Farrell, Kiser said.
"The board always looks for the best people possible with a broad range of experiences and expertise. (Farrell's) credentials were very impressive," he said.
Said Farrell: "I'm not involved at all with anything connected with financial aid or administration. Mine's a pure academic role."
Farrell is an expert in corporate finance and governance and commercial bank management.
The agreement between the university and the lender is set to end in May. Because the board deals only with strategic issues, Farrell said, she won't be involved in any decision on the partnership.
The board also added Kimberly Rath. She's managing director and president of Talent Plus, a Lincoln-based human resources consulting company she helped found in 1989.
"We are very fortunate to be adding new members to our board with such impressive credentials and a wealth of experience in their professional fields," said Mike Dunlap, chairman and chief executive officer of Nelnet, in a news release.
"With Kathy's expertise in finance and Kimberly's rich background in leadership development and human resources, they both will be terrific additions to our board and will contribute to the long-term success of Nelnet," he said.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating conflicts of interest by student lenders, including Nelnet.
In April, Nelnet acknowledged what Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning called "very small" mistakes in some dealings with colleges.
In August, Nelnet agreed to pay a $1 million settlement with Nebraska. It also has agreed to pay $2 million and quit offering some services to universities as part of a settlement with Cuomo's office.
In Nelnet's Nov. 2 third-quarter report, it said it had $26.6 billion in net student loan assets.
On the Net:
Nelnet: http://www.nelnet.com
Kathleen Farrell, an associate professor of finance at UNL, was named to the nine-member board late last month.
Nelnet, which makes and services student loans, has had a school lender partnership with UNL since 2004.
Nelnet spokesman Ben Kiser said that under the agreement, the school can act as a lender to its graduate students, then Nelnet buys and services the loans.
That arrangement had no bearing on the selection of Farrell, Kiser said.
"The board always looks for the best people possible with a broad range of experiences and expertise. (Farrell's) credentials were very impressive," he said.
Said Farrell: "I'm not involved at all with anything connected with financial aid or administration. Mine's a pure academic role."
Farrell is an expert in corporate finance and governance and commercial bank management.
The agreement between the university and the lender is set to end in May. Because the board deals only with strategic issues, Farrell said, she won't be involved in any decision on the partnership.
The board also added Kimberly Rath. She's managing director and president of Talent Plus, a Lincoln-based human resources consulting company she helped found in 1989.
"We are very fortunate to be adding new members to our board with such impressive credentials and a wealth of experience in their professional fields," said Mike Dunlap, chairman and chief executive officer of Nelnet, in a news release.
"With Kathy's expertise in finance and Kimberly's rich background in leadership development and human resources, they both will be terrific additions to our board and will contribute to the long-term success of Nelnet," he said.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating conflicts of interest by student lenders, including Nelnet.
In April, Nelnet acknowledged what Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning called "very small" mistakes in some dealings with colleges.
In August, Nelnet agreed to pay a $1 million settlement with Nebraska. It also has agreed to pay $2 million and quit offering some services to universities as part of a settlement with Cuomo's office.
In Nelnet's Nov. 2 third-quarter report, it said it had $26.6 billion in net student loan assets.
On the Net:
Nelnet: http://www.nelnet.com
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
