By: Pauline Dulang, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb. – UNO Television’s studio coordinator Mark Dail is retiring next month, completing a tenure of almost 40 years.
From student to crew chief to teacher and ultimately the studio’s coordinator, Mark Dail is responsible for all of UNO Television’s set design.
His career at the university began in 1983 working part-time as a student pursing a bachelors in broadcasting and T-V production, a degree that has since then morphed into a bachelors in journalism and mass communication.
In 2009, Mark taught courses in Television, equipping a paid student crew with camera fundamentals and remote shooting, however, budget cuts forced the team to dissolve down to its current four full-time workers.
Former studio crew member Anthony Blue said the TV crew housed a spectrum of personalities.
“There is this person named Mark Dail who seemed to pop in and out here and there. One day, I said, ‘Hey, Mark! What do you guys do here?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, well, we do a whole bunch of nothing.’ You know, ‘Mark’ jokes, right?”
Mark said he learns more from the students than the other way around. In his retirement, he’s looking forward to completing various unfinished house projects and that the future of UNO Television is bright.
“Somebody asked me once, ‘What is going to happen with your future?’ and my response was, ‘It’s not my future, it’s you guys because you guys are my future. I’m helping you guys achieve your dreams. I’ve had my dream.”
Mark said he’ll be working on unfinished video projects, including one for Omaha musician Larry Dun and his annual toy drive for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He says he owes it to Dun to video capture his community impact on one of America’s poorest areas.
