Albert Bandura | Terry Branstad | Sam Bromberger | Kenneth Klabunde | Eric Sandeen | Ellen Weissinger

Albert Bandura

David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Science in Psychology, Stanford University
Department of Psychology
MA 1951, PhD 1952 Department of Psychology

Albert Bandura is the David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University (CA). An international expert on the psychology of learning, he is the leading proponent of social learning theory. He introduced the influential concept of “self-efficacy,” which has implications for motivation and behavior in many realms—including health promotion, organizational behavior, and collective action. A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, he has received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award, the highest honor in the discipline of psychology, and the William James Award of the American Psychological Society.

Terry E. Branstad

President, Branstad and Associates LC
BA 1969
Department of Political Science

Terry Branstad is the former Governor of Iowa and currently president of Branstad and Associates LC in West Des Moines. After earning the JD at Drake University in Des Moines, he served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives and as lieutenant governor before being elected to four consecutive terms as governor (1983-99). He served as chair of the National Governors Association (1989), the Republican Governors Association (1997), and the Education Commission of the States (1998). He has just completed a two-year term as chair of President Bush’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education.

S.H. Bromberger

Consultant, Intellectual Property
MS 1965, PhD 1968
Department of Geoscience

S.H. Bromberger of Houston, Texas, is currently a consultant on intellectual property, after retiring from a career in oil exploration with Texaco and with J.M. Huber Corporation. His expertise as a geologist included sedimentary basins throughout North America and the northern Atlantic. His principal research contribution was a theoretical synthesis of the structural and stratigraphic development of the North Sea Basin. A dedicated supporter of his department, he has chaired the Geology Alumni Advisory Board, where he focused on creating research opportunities and placements for the Department’s students. He also chaired the Dean's Advisory Board from 2000 to 2003.

Kenneth Klabunde

University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Kansas State University
PhD 1969
Department of Chemistry

Kenneth Klabunde is University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Kansas State University. In 1998 he was named “Outstanding Chemist in the Midwest” by the American Chemical Society. A leader in metal atom chemistry, he designed the first metal atom reactor for general commercial use. In the new field of nanoscale particles, he has designed adsorbent powders for environmental clean-up, scrubbing of acid gases, and the protection of soldiers from chemical and biological weapons. He has given six invited American Chemical Society lecture tours and 20 international lecture tours. He helped establish the Council for Chemical Research, which promotes academic-industry relations.

Eric Sandeen

Professor and Director of the American Studies Program, University of Wyoming
MA 1976, PhD 1977
Department of American Studies

Eric Sandeen is Professor and Director of the American Studies Program at the University of Wyoming. In 2002, he received the American Studies Association’s highest award for service, the Mary C. Turpie Prize, for fostering American Studies through international exchanges. As an ambassador for American Studies, he frequently lectures internationally, has been instrumental in developing American Studies programs at universities in eastern Europe and Asia, and brought American Studies practitioners from other countries to the U.S. His own scholarship focuses on public policy, the creative arts, and the environment.

Ellen Weissinger

Executive Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
MA 1982
Department of Leisure Studies

Ellen Weissinger is Executive Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. A professor of educational psychology, she is a recognized authority on intrinsic motivation and on the antecedents and consequences of boredom. She has served as editor of the Journal of Leisure Research, the primary research journal in her field. She has also specialized in psychometrics and published three measurement instruments. She earned her PhD at the University of Maryland. At Nebraska, she has also served as associate dean of Teachers College and associate director of the Buros Institute for Mental Measurements.