Alumni Steve Seline, Todd Schmaderer receive Citations
The UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation for Alumni Achievement award upon UNO graduates Steve Seline and Todd Schmaderer during the university’s spring commencement ceremonies May 5 at Baxter Arena.
Seline, president of Walnut Private Equity Partners, was recognized at the 9 a.m. ceremony for four UNO colleges. Schmaderer, Omaha chief of police, was recognized at the 3 p.m. ceremony for UNO’s three other colleges. Inaugurated in 1949, the citation is the association’s highest honor. It encompasses career achievement, community service, involvement in business and professional associations, and fidelity to UNO. To date, 174 graduates have received Citation awards. Association President Lee Denker presented the awards to Seline and Schmaderer.
Steve Seline
Steve Seline earned a BS in economics from UNO in 1975. He later earned a law degree from Creighton University. His professional career includes experiences across a variety of industries. In 1979 he began nearly two decades of work at Kutak Rock law firm, the last 13 years as a partner. For the next eight years Seline was, concurrently, vice chairman of three companies: WaittCorp Investments, Waitt Media and Gold Circle Films. The latter, an independent film studio, produced the 2002 hit movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
Seline became president of Walnut Private Equity Partners in 2007. Its affiliates include Walnut Radio, which Seline founded and oversees as president and CEO. Its holdings include stations KFMT, KHUB, KBLR and KOMJ. Seline also is a trustee or director for Southroads board of directors, Baer Family Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust and Premier Bank Advisory Board.
Seline has an extensive record of community service, most recently serving as chairman of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce in 2014. He also was chairman of the Salvation Army and Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and was commissioner of the Nebraska Public Television Commission. Seline also has served Film Streams, Building Healthy Futures, and the University of Nebraska and Creighton law schools. He was legal counsel to the UNO Alumni Association’s Board of Directors in the 1980s. UNO’s College of Business in 2006 named him its Outstanding Economics Alum of the Year.
Todd Schmaderer
Todd Schmaderer earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UNO in 1994. He later earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati (2009). An Omaha native and lifelong resident, he was appointed Omaha’s 32nd chief of police in August 2012. He leads the largest law enforcement agency in the State of Nebraska, comprising 860 sworn officers and 200 non-sworn personnel. As chief he manages an operating budget of $140 million and serves a population of 460,000 residents within Omaha city limits.
Schmaderer joined the Omaha Police Department as an officer in 1996. He progressed steadily through its ranks, serving as a sergeant with the Uniform Patrol Bureau then Criminal Investigations Bureau; as a lieutenant shift commander then training academy commander; and, as a captain with the Southwest Precinct and Traffic Unit. He was deputy police chief with the Uniform Patrol Bureau from 2010 to 2012 before being sworn in as chief of police.
Schmaderer serves on the boards of many organizations, including the Nebraska Crime Commission, the Omaha Police Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. He is a member of the Omaha-Metropolitan Chiefs Association, the Police Officers Association of Nebraska, the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He is an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Bellevue University.