Bill Avery is a professional lecturer, author, teacher, and trade consultant. He was a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he taught Political Science for more than 30 years.
Bill served on the citizen committee that recommended building two new high schools in Lincoln and worked to get the bond issue approved by voters. He also served on the committee that selected the names for the new schools.
Bill was appointed to a state-wide committee that worked with the Legislature to pass laws that made voting easier for Nebraskans.
In 1990, he formed the non-partisan group that wrote the law limiting campaign spending and reducing the influence of money in Nebraska politics.
Bill has served on several local and national boards, including the Democratic National Committee and the National Governing Board of Common Cause.
He conducts research on international trade and has served as a trade consultant, working to expand markets for American goods in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Bill served in the U.S. Air Force and was cited twice for meritorious service to the country. He worked his way through college with the aid of the GI Bill and various jobs in the construction industry as an active member of the International Hod Carriers Union.
After completing his education, Bill came to Lincoln in 1974. He raised his family here and made Lincoln his permanent home. Bill refers to himself as “a Nebraskan by choice.”
Bill is married and has three children. His roots run deep in District 28, where he has lived for more than 20 years. Bill volunteers for his neighborhood association, Habitat for Humanity, and the Boy Scouts. He and his family are members of First Plymouth Congregational Church.
Bill’s devotion to teaching earned him numerous awards and teaching honors, including the Douglas Bereuter Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Instruction; Mortar Board Society Professor of the Month; four Certificates of Recognition for Contributions to Students; Beta Theta Pi Award for Excellence in Education; Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers; and two-time finalist for Educator of the Year by vote of student body at UNL. He also wrote or edited six books and 30 published articles.
