51ÉçÇø

The Excellence in Teaching Award at the University of Nebraska at 51ÉçÇø, established in 1969, honors exceptional dedication, effort, and exemplary conduct in fulfilling the University’s primary mission: educating all students. Outstanding and committed educators are a university's greatest strength. At UNO, we are fortunate to have faculty whose contributions deserve special recognition.

Erin Bass, Ph.D.

Department of Management
College of Business Administration

UNO is proud to recognize Erin Bass, Ph.D., professor of management in the College of Business Administration (CBA), as a recipient of the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award. This award celebrates Bass’s exceptional commitment to educating students and her outstanding contributions to teaching, curriculum innovation, and student success.

Bass exemplifies what it means to be a transformative educator. Since joining UNO in 2014, she has taught undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of strategy, business ethics, and leadership, shaping the academic journeys of future business leaders across multiple modalities—from in-person to online, from core courses to executive education. Her courses are known not only for their rigor but for their real-world application and clear, competency-based learning outcomes.

Among her most impactful contributions is her leadership of the Capstone Cup, a signature experiential learning competition that engages every graduating undergraduate business student. This competition, designed and co-led by Bass, has become a hallmark of CBA’s strategic capstone course. Students are tasked with analyzing real business challenges and presenting strategic solutions to a panel of judges from the 51ÉçÇø business community.

Bass’s impact, however, goes far beyond a single initiative. She has led over 50 service-learning projects that connect coursework to community impact, mentored dozens of students through thesis and research projects, and published extensively in the field of teaching and pedagogy, including award-winning business cases used by faculty across the country.

In recognition of her campus leadership, she was recently named UNO’s inaugural Executive Director for Competencies, Skills, and Workforce Development, where she is guiding university-wide efforts to build competency-based education frameworks and workforce-aligned programming. Her efforts not only prepare students for success beyond the classroom but also advance UNO’s mission to be a leader in student-centered, future-ready education.

Bass’s excellence is affirmed not only by her extensive record of teaching awards, including the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award, multiple MBA Professor of the Year honors, and recognition from national professional organizations, but also by the voices of students who describe her as “enthusiastic,” and “an exceptional professor who made learning strategy a delight”.

Nomination Information

Download the Excellence in Teaching Award nomination criteria and forms

Most Recent Excellence in Teaching Award Recipients

View the complete list of previous award recipients