Michelle Suarez Appointed to
Nebraska State College System Board

LINCOLN – Governor Dave Heineman recently appointed Michelle R. Suarez, Lincoln, to the Nebraska State College System (NSCS) Board of Trustees. The seven-member board is responsible for the policy oversight of the system, which includes Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges. Each board member serves a term of six years.

“I am honored that Governor Heineman appointed me to the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees. I have two daughters – one in college and one that soon will be – and know that education makes a tremendous difference. I believe so strongly in all levels of education and will work during my time on the board to make higher education available to as many people as possible,” Suarez said.

Suarez will complete the term vacated by former Board Chair Willa Kosman. Kosman was first appointed to the board in March 1999 and was reappointed in 2003. During her time on the board, she served as chair, vice chair, chair of the Academic, Personnel and Student Affairs Committee and most recently, chair of the Chair of the Enrollment and Marketing Committee.

Suarez has been the principal at Calvert Elementary School in south Lincoln since 1997. Prior to that, she was a coordinator at Beattie Elementary School and also taught kindergarten, first and sixth grades. She was a first grade teacher in Wilber-Clatonia Elementary School for two years and worked at the Nebraska Summer Migrant Schools in Scottsbluff and Gering instructing children ages 3-8 for six years.

NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter said, “I am very pleased with the Governor’s appointment of Michelle Suarez to the Board of Trustees. As an outstanding educator, Michelle will provide great insight and perspective as we plot the future course of the Nebraska State College System.”

Suarez currently serves as a board member on the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools and the Nebraska Education Leadership Council. She is also the Friendship Home Program Committee Chair and a board member.

A graduate of Scottsbluff High School, she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

She and her husband, John, have two daughters. Erica is a junior at Southeast High School and Carli is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.