DANA ROOTS RUN DEEP

For New Board Members

Two Dana alumni have joined the college’s Board of Regents, Robert Coffey and Rod Christenson.

Robert Coffey graduated from Dana College with honors in 1975.
After a brief stint as a teacher, he began a career in marketing and advertising. For more than 18 years he has been self-employed as a marketing and advertising writer, designer and consultant for such companies as Physicians Mutual Insurance Company, MasterGrip Golf, Ameritrade and others.

Coffey came to Dana as part of a family tradition, becoming the sixth alumnus from his family. While attending Dana he earned varsity letters in three sports and served on the Student Senate, campus radio station, newspaper and creative writing anthology (Sower) staffs.

He currently lives in Blair, where he has maintained his close ties to the college, serving on the Alumni Council and as president of the Dana Boosters.

Coffey also serves on boards for the Blair Area Community Foundation, Christian Growth Fund of First Lutheran Church, Blair Public Library Foundation and the Mid America Direct Marketing Association.

Rod Christenson ’70 graduated from Craig (Neb.) High School in 1966. He came to Dana to study physical education and mathematics, and went on to earn his master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Christenson was a high school and college teacher and coach for four years before joining Dana College as director of financial aid. He coached Dana’s first women’s softball team and resurrected the women’s basketball team after it had been inactive for many years. He also served as an assistant football coach under Gary Sievers.

After leaving Dana, Christenson worked for IBM as an account representative. Since then he has been the chief information officer for two Fortune 500 companies, American Family Insurance and Manpower International. He is currently president of Mid American Computer Corp., part of the HunTel System Group, in Blair.
Christenson and his wife, Diane (Schmidt ’71), have two children. His son, Craig, graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 2000 and is currently an assistant golf professional at Indian Wells Country Club in Palm Springs, Calif. His daughter, Karin, is a junior at Nebraska Wesleyan, majoring in elementary education.

Dr. Myrvin Christopherson, Dana College president, said Dana’s two new board members will enable the college to have solid representation from Washington County. Both have rich family ties to Dana, a devotion to higher education, and a rich experience in business.

“I can’t imagine finding two more competent Regents,” Christopherson said. “Both have teaching and coaching or officiating experience and have worked effectively with young people. Rod has had large, medium, and small business management experience as well as successful sales experience, and now manages MACC, one of Blair’s largest employers. Bob developed his own company into a premier marketing and advertising force, serving companies large and small. They will hit the ground running to help move Dana to a new level of excellence and service. Blair and Dana are fortunate to have these two local business leaders as Dana Regents.”

The Dana Board of Regents is elected to set the strategic direction and policy of the college, set goals and long-range plans, ensure financial solvency and provide tools to the administration to enable the administration to manage the institution.