JOYCE CHRISTENSEN

​Inducted in 2019

Joyce was awarded the SHSAA Hall of Fame Distinguished Staff Award in 2019.

Joyce Christensen was the Principal of South High from 1983 to 1993.  She was Principal during the west expansion of the school, and was instrumental in seeing that the day-to-day activities of the school were not disrupted by the construction.  While her impact at South was notable, her involvement with the Omaha Community is also acknowledged.  She was a member of the South O Neighborhood Association (board), sat on the South O Merchants Association Board, involved in Lauritzen Gardens, the Henry Doorly Zoo, sat on the United Catholic Social Services Board, Wesley House Board, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, UNL Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, the Opera Omaha Board, the Metropolitan Reading Council, the Omaha Community Playhouse, the Assistance League of Omaha, and the Veteran’s Outdoor Adventures.
 
Joyce attended OPS schools from K-12.  She attended Dana College in Blair and then switched to University of Nebraska-Omaha where she received her B.S. in education.  She also received her Master’s from UNO in Administration, and then attended UNL for her graduate work toward a Ph.D. in Education. 
 
She has been the principal of elementary, middle and senior high schools.  She received the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts School Administrator’s Award; was named the Administrator of the Year by the Nebraska Council for Exceptional Children; received the Administrator Award from the Nebraska Counseling Association; Named to the South Omaha Community Hall of Fame; Received the UNO Distinguished Alumni Award, the Dana College Distinguished Alumni Award; was named the Administrator of the Year by the Arts Education of Nebraska; received the Excellence in Education by the G.I. Forum, the ICAN Career Excellence and Community Involvement Award and received the Chicano Awareness Center Award for Support of the Hispanic Community.