KRVN Chat with the Chancellor

Ronnie Green Author

02/02/2020 Added

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Ronnie Green discusses his October trip to Washington D.C.; how the UNL tractor testing station works to keep agricultural producers safe; a preview of his annual State of the University address; and the top 2-3 items on his agenda for the Spring 2020 semester

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[00:00:00.170]Brandon Benitz with the Rural Radio Network
[00:00:02.310]and our weekly Chat with the Chancellor here
[00:00:04.190]in the Spring 2020 Semester.
[00:00:06.200]This week, once again, joined by a special guest,
[00:00:08.330]Dr. Ronnie Green, the Chancellor
[00:00:09.780]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:00:12.140]Chancellor, back in October you made a trip
[00:00:13.770]to Washington, D.C. where you met
[00:00:15.410]with the Nebraska Congressional delegation,
[00:00:17.600]USDA Secretary Perdue,
[00:00:19.680]NIFA Director Angle and others.
[00:00:22.460]What was on your agenda to discuss
[00:00:24.220]with each of those dignitaries
[00:00:25.620]and what were your biggest takeaways
[00:00:26.950]from that trip to D.C.?
[00:00:28.950]Well, Brandon, I've spent a lot of time in D.C.
[00:00:32.640]And one of the recent trips there back in the fall
[00:00:35.280]had the opportunity to really focus in
[00:00:38.538]on meeting with not only our Congressional delegation
[00:00:41.100]but also with the leadership
[00:00:43.160]at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[00:00:45.090]Of course USDA is a major partner with us
[00:00:49.287]and the land grant university
[00:00:51.587]and has been historically
[00:00:52.800]through our efforts in agriculture and natural resources
[00:00:55.870]and research and extension, in particular.
[00:00:58.980]Had the opportunity on this most recent trip
[00:01:01.530]to visit with Secretary Perdue at USDA,
[00:01:04.610]with Scott Angle, the director
[00:01:06.820]of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture,
[00:01:08.700]which is the funding agency at USDA
[00:01:11.380]that funds extramural research and education
[00:01:14.050]across the country.
[00:01:15.450]A number of things were on our agenda,
[00:01:17.750]talking certainly about the importance
[00:01:20.300]of investment and research and innovation
[00:01:23.050]in the ag states and the leadership that we provide
[00:01:26.110]in that through the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
[00:01:29.010]But in particular, a couple of things
[00:01:31.080]were on our agenda that are timely ones.
[00:01:33.480]One is support for a program that we're now a partner in
[00:01:38.820]through the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University
[00:01:42.730]hosting the National Institute
[00:01:44.370]for Antimicrobial Resistance Research Education
[00:01:48.380]through ANR at UNL and through the College
[00:01:51.090]of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University
[00:01:54.450]in animal agriculture, particularly focused
[00:01:57.410]on use of antibiotics and reduction of use
[00:02:01.230]of antibiotics in animal agriculture
[00:02:03.550]to help overcome its issues that are
[00:02:07.090]tangentially associated with antimicrobial resistance
[00:02:10.910]and people from use of antibiotics.
[00:02:13.891]So a big discussion about that
[00:02:15.520]with Sonny and with Scott.
[00:02:17.470]And as well our research around the issue
[00:02:22.117]of everything to do with the
[00:02:23.310]National Drought Mitigation Center at the University,
[00:02:27.097]that's also a partnership that we have
[00:02:29.000]through funding with USDA
[00:02:31.060]that helps us to fund that effort,
[00:02:33.000]so important to them.
[00:02:34.950]Many people don't realize that the NDMC
[00:02:38.100]at the University of Nebraska puts out those drought maps
[00:02:41.570]that we see and use on a regular basis
[00:02:44.160]across the country,
[00:02:45.780]that's how the USDA actually determines
[00:02:48.870]its disaster assistance programs
[00:02:51.470]for agriculture every day and every year.
[00:02:55.300]So had the opportunity to visit with Sonny and Scott
[00:02:58.170]about that as well
[00:02:59.150]and then actually in my own field,
[00:03:01.320]I'm an animal geneticist by training,
[00:03:03.500]worked with the livestock industry throughout my career,
[00:03:06.520]the cattle industry in particular,
[00:03:08.840]one of the areas that I used to be very involved
[00:03:11.560]in with the U.S. Government when I was an official
[00:03:14.385]at USCA with their research program
[00:03:16.570]was in the area of genetic improvement
[00:03:18.807]and Sonny Perdue and the USDA folks
[00:03:21.580]are very heavily involved in a lot of discussion
[00:03:24.420]about gene editing currently
[00:03:27.387]and the way that that technology is going to be used
[00:03:30.540]and regulated by the U.S. Government.
[00:03:32.660]So Sonny also wanted to have a conversation with me
[00:03:35.030]about that topic, which we had the opportunity to do.
[00:03:38.330]Very good trip and I enjoyed the time there
[00:03:41.230]with USDA and I look forward to it in the future.
[00:03:45.690]Chancellor, UNL is home to the officially designated
[00:03:48.300]U.S. tractor testing station, where since 1920,
[00:03:52.120]the laboratory has tested more than 2,000 tractors.
[00:03:55.320]Tell us more about this facility at UNL
[00:03:57.740]and how it works to help agricultural producers be safe.
[00:04:01.500]Well, Brandon the tractor test lab at UNL
[00:04:04.160]that's part of our
[00:04:04.993]Department of Biological Systems Engineering
[00:04:07.450]and partnered with the College of Engineering,
[00:04:10.297]has been a longstanding international center
[00:04:13.070]that the University has hosted for many many years.
[00:04:16.170]Tractor manufacturers from around the world
[00:04:18.700]look to the tractor test lab effectively
[00:04:21.560]for the seal of approval on equipment.
[00:04:24.710]In terms of performance testing,
[00:04:26.330]we're still the granddaddy of them all,
[00:04:28.240]we're the only facility in the world
[00:04:30.120]that's capable of testing the very largest tractors
[00:04:32.580]that are manufactured.
[00:04:34.720]It's the official way they're designated
[00:04:36.320]as the tractor testing station or location
[00:04:38.640]for the U.S. and it tests the tractors
[00:04:42.220]according to the OECD,
[00:04:44.220]the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
[00:04:47.530]that has the coding for assuring that you pass the test
[00:04:51.350]so to speak.
[00:04:52.460]It doesn't make an endorsement of particular models
[00:04:55.560]or particular manufacturers,
[00:04:57.410]it just gives an enforcement that they have been tested
[00:05:00.200]and meet the standards.
[00:05:01.730]29 countries around the world adhere
[00:05:04.650]to those tractor test codes
[00:05:06.610]and have stations in approximately 25 of those countries.
[00:05:09.850]As I said, ours would be the one representing the U.S.
[00:05:13.520]where much of that manufacturing is done
[00:05:15.400]and then exported around the world.
[00:05:17.710]Tractor test lab operates both in the spring
[00:05:20.530]and the fall.
[00:05:22.010]It requires that the temperatures
[00:05:23.625]be in between 40 and 80 degrees
[00:05:25.870]for pulling equipment behind on a drawbar
[00:05:28.880]to be in that temperature range.
[00:05:30.450]If you've been on campus, many people will refer
[00:05:32.990]to the oval where the tractors work outside
[00:05:36.270]and are done in that testing.
[00:05:38.160]The testing center makes results available
[00:05:40.970]at little or no cost to all interested parties.
[00:05:44.701]The reports from those tests
[00:05:46.380]are available from 1999 up to the current date.
[00:05:50.060]While the tractor test lab's first and major focus
[00:05:53.060]and priority is to conduct those tests
[00:05:56.280]on individual tractors and manufacturers,
[00:05:59.280]it also is the way that we are able to give our students
[00:06:02.630]experience that are in the mechanized ag systems major,
[00:06:06.920]ag engineering majors at the University.
[00:06:09.850]We typically have from 25 to 30 students
[00:06:13.040]who are part-time workers involved in the work
[00:06:15.760]at the tractor test lab at any time
[00:06:18.230]throughout the year.
[00:06:20.580]Very important function that the University performs
[00:06:23.620]through the tractor test lab there
[00:06:25.480]in our Department of Biological Systems Engineering.
[00:06:28.680]Brandon Benitz with the Rural Radio Network
[00:06:30.800]and our weekly Chat with the Chancellor
[00:06:32.470]here in the Spring 2020 semester.
[00:06:34.690]This week once again joined by a special guest,
[00:06:36.840]Dr. Ronnie Green, the Chancellor
[00:06:38.290]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:06:40.570]Dr. Green, you're gonna give your annual
[00:06:42.190]state of the University address here in just a few weeks.
[00:06:45.370]Can you give us a preview of that address,
[00:06:47.600]including your outline for the N2025 strategic plan?
[00:06:52.390]Well we're very excited that we are coming up
[00:06:54.880]on the time of the year
[00:06:56.040]for the state of our University address.
[00:06:59.369]It's been moved in recent years.
[00:07:00.830]Typically at UNL we've always done, or had done,
[00:07:03.980]the address in the fall at the beginning
[00:07:05.970]of the academic year, in September.
[00:07:08.030]Beginning last year, we moved it
[00:07:10.020]to be in the middle of the year,
[00:07:11.520]to be more coordinated with the University's birthday.
[00:07:15.960]This year the state of our University address
[00:07:18.320]will be on February the 14th,
[00:07:20.590]that's the day before our February 15th birthday.
[00:07:24.550]It'll be at Nebraska Innovation Campus this year.
[00:07:28.311]We've moved it from where it has traditionally been
[00:07:30.140]at the Lied Center
[00:07:31.050]and are moving it to Innovation Campus.
[00:07:33.810]I'll give an update, an overview of the status
[00:07:36.980]of the University but for a reduced period of time
[00:07:40.110]compared to what we've done in the past.
[00:07:41.960]It'll be about a 30 minute overview of the state
[00:07:44.600]of the University,
[00:07:46.330]followed by an update on the state
[00:07:48.820]of each of our nine academic colleges at UNL
[00:07:52.090]from each of the Deans that oversee those colleges.
[00:07:54.960]So very much looking forward to that.
[00:07:57.560]While last year was a big year for us
[00:08:00.150]as we celebrated the 150th anniversary
[00:08:02.940]of the University,
[00:08:04.080]this is an important state of our University as well
[00:08:06.970]because we're looking forward now as we go into
[00:08:10.200]the next period of time ahead.
[00:08:12.310]We're doing that with the launch of what's being called
[00:08:16.010]the N2025 strategic plan for UNL.
[00:08:20.415]We'll formally unveil and roll that out
[00:08:23.190]in the state of the University.
[00:08:25.590]Excited about that, there's been a long period of work
[00:08:29.060]both over the year in 2018 when the,
[00:08:32.240]what we call the N150 Commission,
[00:08:35.060]worked to look at a big vision
[00:08:37.850]for the University over the next 25 years,
[00:08:40.740]kind of long term vision of what we aspire
[00:08:43.260]the University to be in this next period of time ahead.
[00:08:47.200]Then this past year in 2019 we took that vision
[00:08:51.600]and have created a first five year strategic plan
[00:08:55.240]to implement that vision for UNL.
[00:08:57.810]So we're excited about rolling that out.
[00:09:00.270]We'll speak to our students co-creating
[00:09:03.260]their educational experiences,
[00:09:05.240]and we'll speak to the desire that we have
[00:09:08.300]that every graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:09:11.760]by 2025 will have an experiential portfolio
[00:09:16.300]with their degree that includes
[00:09:18.490]both apprenticeship and internship work,
[00:09:21.170]research work directly with faculty,
[00:09:23.560]global experience
[00:09:25.060]and community problem-solving in Nebraska,
[00:09:27.600]in addition to their coursework and their curriculum.
[00:09:30.750]We're very excited about that.
[00:09:32.160]We believe we'll be the only institution in the Big 10
[00:09:35.260]and nationally that will achieve that,
[00:09:37.700]so it's a big part of the vision
[00:09:39.360]that we are enacting in the strategic plan,
[00:09:42.710]along with growth in our research enterprise
[00:09:45.580]around important problems for Nebraska,
[00:09:48.704]interdisciplinarity of that research and innovation,
[00:09:52.230]and development of our people
[00:09:53.970]at the University of Nebraska,
[00:09:55.480]which we know is our biggest asset.
[00:09:57.390]So we're very very pleased to be rolling that plan out.
[00:10:00.560]It's the result of a lot of hard work
[00:10:02.570]over these last couple of years,
[00:10:04.270]by our University community,
[00:10:06.110]led by our faculty.
[00:10:07.940]We're excited to be rolling that out to say
[00:10:09.900]to the University here in a couple of weeks.
[00:10:12.770]Chancellor, as a corollary to that,
[00:10:14.440]with the beginning here of the Spring 2020 semester,
[00:10:17.670]what are the top two or three things on your agenda
[00:10:19.900]for this semester and even the year ahead of 2020?
[00:10:24.060]Well the semester's off to a rolling start already,
[00:10:27.040]now with a few weeks of classes under our belt.
[00:10:30.200]In addition to putting the N2025 plan into place
[00:10:34.380]and getting that off to a great start this year,
[00:10:37.340]we also have a year where coming in our next fiscal year,
[00:10:41.560]beginning July 1st, we'll be implementing
[00:10:44.540]a new budget allocation model for UNL,
[00:10:47.220]first time in our history that we have done this,
[00:10:50.190]where we're moving to an incentive-based model
[00:10:53.590]for our colleges across the University campus.
[00:10:56.910]It's a very significant move for us.
[00:10:58.890]We've been working on the development
[00:11:00.750]to move in to implementation of this for over two years
[00:11:04.490]and getting ready for us to move into this direction
[00:11:07.040]and I've very excited to see that happening,
[00:11:09.650]which we think will help us to spur growth
[00:11:12.610]in areas where it needs to occur
[00:11:14.700]in the time that's ahead.
[00:11:16.680]Also I'm excited that we will be welcoming
[00:11:19.660]the new academic leader
[00:11:21.060]for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:11:23.450]our Executive Vice-Chancellor to campus here in late March.
[00:11:28.230]We announced just before the holidays
[00:11:30.380]the appointment of Dr. Elizabeth Spiller,
[00:11:32.810]who is coming to us to that position.
[00:11:35.460]She is currently serving or finishing up her role
[00:11:38.810]as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
[00:11:40.780]at the University of California-Davis,
[00:11:43.320]where she oversees the largest single college
[00:11:46.850]in the University of California system,
[00:11:49.380]15,000 students in that college.
[00:11:51.740]She's been a very successful leader there,
[00:11:54.430]and prior to that, at Virginia Tech, where she was
[00:11:56.850]Dean as well.
[00:11:58.716]I'm very much looking forward
[00:11:59.549]to Elizabeth joining us in March
[00:12:01.960]to lead our academic enterprise across the University.
[00:12:06.270]This is the start of a big period of about three years
[00:12:10.240]ahead of us, building for the UNL campus.
[00:12:14.180]We talked last fall about launching
[00:12:16.470]a couple of these projects,
[00:12:18.170]about what that's going to mean for us,
[00:12:20.660]big legacy projects for the campus that include
[00:12:24.520]ones that are already under way
[00:12:26.450]that started this past fall.
[00:12:28.710]Stage one of a reconstruction
[00:12:31.330]of the Scott Engineering Center on City Campus at UNL
[00:12:35.972]to house expanded research and education facilities
[00:12:39.630]for our materials and mechanical engineering
[00:12:42.040]and civil and environmental engineering departments
[00:12:44.590]in our College of Engineering,
[00:12:45.787]$75 million rebuild on that facility.
[00:12:49.020]The beginning, that we're currently at the very front end
[00:12:52.380]of a new $46 million home
[00:12:55.016]for our College of Education and Human Sciences
[00:12:57.720]and the reconstruction of Abel-Lee Hall on campus.
[00:13:01.510]We currently are in the very end of,
[00:13:03.777]the last few months of finishing
[00:13:06.180]the complete renovation of the Nebraska East Union
[00:13:08.790]on the East Campus at UNL.
[00:13:11.003]Very excited about the first parts of that
[00:13:13.280]are already online
[00:13:14.820]and the rest coming on line this spring.
[00:13:17.945]The new renovation of the C.Y.Thompson Library facility
[00:13:20.800]on East Campus into a student learning commons,
[00:13:23.130]it'll be known as the Dinsdale learning commons,
[00:13:25.830]is now underway, set for most of that work
[00:13:28.490]to be completed during this calendar year.
[00:13:32.270]Finishing up the fundraising to enable
[00:13:35.350]the beginning of the Go Big athletics project
[00:13:37.950]that was announced last fall
[00:13:40.060]for construction of a new football training facility
[00:13:42.627]and a new academic life skills and training table facilities
[00:13:46.080]for all of our student athletes on the North East side
[00:13:49.270]of Memorial Stadium, on our current track site,
[00:13:52.090]very good progress at finishing the fundraising
[00:13:54.640]for that effort.
[00:13:55.890]It's now being designed and getting underway
[00:13:58.250]for construction to start later this year,
[00:14:01.530]as well as the phase two of our College of Engineering,
[00:14:05.420]a new instructional facility to be known
[00:14:08.290]as Kiewit Hall that we hope to be in the ground
[00:14:11.010]for construction starting after design in early 2021.
[00:14:15.340]So big, big time ahead of us in facilities,
[00:14:18.540]legacy projects that, the first one's already underway
[00:14:22.390]and planning for those.
[00:14:25.073]A lot happening Brandon, exciting year in 2020
[00:14:27.280]ahead of us at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:14:30.560]Chancellor, as always, the last word is yours.
[00:14:33.810]As if we haven't covered enough ground already.
[00:14:36.130]What else is going on in Lincoln this semester?
[00:14:39.950]Well it's of course a spring semester,
[00:14:42.560]an exciting time, finishing this next crop of our students.
[00:14:47.550]We had a big graduation just before the holidays
[00:14:50.340]with about 1400 students graduating from the University.
[00:14:54.310]We look forward to a big graduation coming in May.
[00:14:57.240]Another one of the biggest classes that we've ever had
[00:14:59.340]in our history so certainly that
[00:15:01.401]is something that we're looking forward to.
[00:15:05.300]We're also realizing that
[00:15:07.080]we don't take anything for granted.
[00:15:08.860]2019, the year we just finished out,
[00:15:12.040]the decade that we just finished out, in many ways,
[00:15:14.690]2019 was a year to remember.
[00:15:17.020]In some ways the year that we don't want to remember.
[00:15:20.300]Weather conditions that the state had during the year
[00:15:23.920]were difficult, one of the most difficult in memory,
[00:15:27.180]for about anyone in our state.
[00:15:29.180]So we're just looking at 2020 as a year
[00:15:31.510]to be grateful for and to take nothing for granted.
[00:15:34.840]Looking forward to another good year
[00:15:36.740]with our students at the University as well.
[00:15:40.460]That was Dr. Ronnie Green, the Chancellor
[00:15:41.940]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:15:44.020]joining us once again as a special guest
[00:15:45.910]here on our Chat with the Chancellor
[00:15:47.860]in the Spring 2020 semester.
[00:15:50.010]With the Rural Radio Network,
[00:15:51.580]this is Brandon Benitz.

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