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The Nebraska Community College Association honored four individuals from Southeast Community College at its Annual Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Norfolk. Nancy Seim, SCC Board of Governor member, won the prestigious NCCA Governors Award. In addition, Ed Koster, Dr. Phip Ross and Scott Volk were named SCC’s administrator, faculty member and alumni of the year.

“The NCCA Awards Ceremony is one of my favorite times of the year as we honor and recognize people who are making an impactful difference at Southeast Community College,” said Dr. Paul Illich, SCC president. “Each person we honored had a significant role in the College’s growth and transformation over the years.”

Seim was first elected to the Board in 2000 and has been providing steady and effective leadership as Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. She is considered a leader in strategic planning and student success initiatives and has inspired community college leaders throughout the nation. Seim served as Board Chair during the pandemic and her leadership led to enrollment growth and the launching of several key initiatives. In addition, she has advocated for SCC to state legislators and constituents in SCC’s 15-county area.

“Nancy was instrumental in providing leadership and support for multiple transformative initiatives at SCC,” Illich said. “She has also played a major role in legislative matters related to the new community college funding model in Nebraska. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the NCCA Governors Award.”

The Administrator Award went to Koster, vice president of research planning and technology and the Milford Campus executive director. Koster joined the SCC administrative team in 2014 as Illich’s first hire as president. After 10 years of service, Koster will retire in November with a legacy that includes a 50% enrollment growth in Milford as well as the completion of more than $30 million in construction projects. One of his last projects was working with the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation to establish a 10-year, $7.6 million scholarship program.

“Ed is a passionate and impactful leader,” said Illich. “His dedication to enhancing the collegiate experience for our Milford students will be difficult to replace.”

Ross was the Faculty Award Recipient and has made significant contributions to student success and faculty development as English instructor, program chair and Writing Center coordinator in his 21 years at SCC. In 2012, he spearheaded the creation of the Transitions Lab which was designed to support the efforts to accelerate student progress through developmental math and English courses. Under his leadership, the program was awarded the National Council of Instructional Administrator’s Exemplary Initiatives Award. Ross founded the Nebraska Developmental Education Consortium to foster collaboration among faculty statewide and was named the NDEC Teacher of the Year in 2023.

Volk, executive vice president and chief operating officer at MetalQuest, was named the Distinguished Alumnus. He graduated from the Manufacturing Engineering Program in 1995 and has become of the best advocates for the importance of tech education in the manufacturing industry. A member of the SCC Precision Machining and Automation Technology Program’s Workforce Leadership Team, he provides valuable insight to SCC faculty on curriculum development which meets industry standards. In addition, Volk is Chair of the Nebraska Manufacturing Advisory Council.

The NCCA is comprised of five member schools: Central, Mid-Plains, Northeast, Southeast, and Western Nebraska. Each year the NCCA holds its annual meeting at one of the member schools and awards Faculty, Governor, Administrator, and Friend of the year awards, along with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

‌Jennifer Snyder
Communications Specialist
402-323-3393
jsnyder@southeast.edu