College of Business and Technology Welcomes Dr. Danielle Kaminski

When Dr. Danielle Kaminski was studying economics and math at Drew University in New Jersey, she knew she wanted to delve deeper into economics. Later, as a graduate student at Michigan State University, she conducted research in agricultural human resource management practices and consumer food and agricultural policy preferences before earning her Ph.D. in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. Upon graduation, she knew she wanted to work in a smaller community where the emphasis was on “the teaching component of the job.” She shares that she “was always really interested in teaching” thanks to the teachers who had impacted her life. She also “felt like that’s where the exchange was going to happen between ideas.” 

Having taught for the past seven years at Michigan State University and Fort Hays State University, Dr. Kaminski is a seasoned instructor who is excited about finding her new home at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She sums up the appeal of the College of Business and Technology in one word: community. She states that “the community is so much stronger here” because “everyone is cordial to each other.” Her path to Kearney began when she worked with Dr. Jody Herchenbach at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA). It was there that she learned a lot about UNK and the way Dr. Herchenbach valued teaching, so when Dr. Kaminski was told about the open visiting position at UNK, she knew she needed to give it a chance.

After spending only one year as a visiting professor, she was offered a full-time role which will begin this summer. And what a year it has been! Between teaching classes and taking a leadership role with the Agriculture Business Club, she has already become a bona fide Loper. She describes how she has given her students opportunities in her classroom to connect what they are hearing in the news about their field to their personal beliefs. One example is where she asked her students to work in pairs to present a lecture to the class with a follow-up facilitated discussion the next day. She shares how she believes this type of teaching “simulates the process of learning about a policy,” where students are responsible for finding reliable sources of information and learn about both sides of the issue. Her desire is that her students will be able to have conversations once they have formed their own opinions in order to understand that, as professionals, there will be others with different opinions. Her teaching style allows her students to have civil conversations about issues such as immigration and labor policy. She also stays current on industry expectations because she understands how, as future professionals, her students will need to be able to think critically and solve problems. This is why she chooses experiential learning instead of the use of textbooks in her classroom.

Dr. Kaminski understands that students need to have chances to network, opportunities to hear the vocabulary from their courses spoken by professionals in their field, and experiences that “add some validation” to what is being taught in the classroom. As a co-advisor of UNK’s Agriculture Business Club, she assists in inviting speakers to the club and plans field trips to make sure her students have exposure to industry professionals. She makes sure her students hear from a wide range of speakers to include small businesses such as the pet food company Gizmo’s Goodies, to a representative from the Kearney Chamber of Commerce about “the importance of leadership and the importance of involvement” in the community. This year, she has also taken students to Anderson's Grain Elevator, Huss Livestock Market, and Husker Harvest Days to help students learn more about their chosen field. Not only does this help her students, but Dr. Kaminski is giving back to the community by showcasing “potential interns or future hires” for local businesses. 

She believes “one of the benefits of the club” is how students get to “learn through people's experience” and how “it's not all like books and graphs and calculations” that students learn in their classes. This is why she has her students do simulations in class where they explain the path that brought them to their belief. She explains how this “communication piece” is important because it helps students understand the various ways they will need to use critical thinking as part of their future careers.

Everyone at the CBT is grateful that Dr. Danielle Kaminski found her way to the community of Kearney. As she explains, from the very beginning, when her interview process included input from local professionals to the warm welcome she has received from her peers, she has felt like UNK was a good fit for her. We look forward to many more years of Dr. Kaminski shaping the lives of her students by helping them understand agriculture “from multiple perspectives” as they “relate it to their prior knowledge.” She empathizes with the challenges her students will have as they work in the agricultural business sector and is thankful to be part of helping them find new ways to think about the topic. She says she is blessed to be at the College of Business and Technology. The feeling is definitely mutual.