Downtime Dialogue: Ronnie Green

University Communication Author

04/13/2020 Added

80 Plays

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Chancellor Ronnie Green answers questions for University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.

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[00:00:00.771](gentle music)
[00:00:05.500]These are really extraordinary times in 2020
[00:00:08.020]as we confront the COVID-19 challenge
[00:00:10.640]and the global pandemic that it has created around the world
[00:00:14.220]and I know that our Nebraska Extension team
[00:00:17.570]across the state of Nebraska
[00:00:19.440]is engaged in meeting this challenge
[00:00:22.650]and in our engagement mission
[00:00:24.480]for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as never before.
[00:00:27.550]It's great to be with you and have a chance to visit today.
[00:00:30.408](gentle music)
[00:00:35.190]Well, our family is very fortunate.
[00:00:37.550]We actually have all of our children here in Lincoln.
[00:00:40.760]We have four children aged 31 down to 23
[00:00:44.540]and three of the four of them
[00:00:46.250]along with the fiance of one of our children
[00:00:48.640]are living with us currently from the East Coast
[00:00:51.170]where they came a few weeks ago,
[00:00:53.820]and they felt like they needed to leave
[00:00:56.310]New Jersey and New York and Washington, D.C.
[00:00:59.640]So we're very fortunate that we're all together
[00:01:01.870]and we're reconnecting in ways
[00:01:05.010]that we haven't been able to connect in several years.
[00:01:07.950]We have seven different lines
[00:01:09.320]going out of our house currently,
[00:01:10.820]everything from editing a national news publication
[00:01:14.370]of one of our sons,
[00:01:15.370]to two seminary students,
[00:01:16.890]to an educator in the workforce,
[00:01:19.990]to everything to do with the University of Nebraska
[00:01:22.240]before you ever get to Husker Jane
[00:01:23.730]and Lord knows what she's doing.
[00:01:25.479](gentle music)
[00:01:32.580]Well you know, I think it's safe to say for all of us
[00:01:36.000]that this is a moment in time
[00:01:38.100]that very few people alive today would've experienced
[00:01:41.260]in their lifetime.
[00:01:43.350]I kind of was reminiscing a little bit
[00:01:46.000]with our children a few weeks ago
[00:01:48.370]as this began and the onset of the pandemic
[00:01:52.760]set in for the world
[00:01:54.530]and began to set in here for the US.
[00:01:57.700]And I was reminiscing about my grandparents
[00:02:00.450]who all were born in a span of 1896 to 1905,
[00:02:06.070]and what they saw in their lifetime
[00:02:09.040]through the first three or four decades of their life
[00:02:13.300]included things like World War I
[00:02:15.670]and the Spanish influenza epidemic
[00:02:17.950]and the stock market crash in 1929
[00:02:20.450]and the Great Depression,
[00:02:22.030]and even leading into and experiencing
[00:02:24.680]the beginning of World War II.
[00:02:26.190]All of that happened for them
[00:02:28.060]before they were 45 years old.
[00:02:30.940]And so even though COVID-19 is this disruptive time
[00:02:35.990]in ways that we haven't experienced
[00:02:38.350]personally during our lifetimes,
[00:02:40.730]it's helpful to put it in context for,
[00:02:43.540]in that way historically.
[00:02:47.020]So the onset of the pandemic,
[00:02:49.680]we have been able to respond to that
[00:02:51.610]and respond to that well.
[00:02:53.810]The decisions that we've had to make
[00:02:55.620]for the University of Nebraska ourselves
[00:02:58.830]in how to best respond to this challenge
[00:03:01.700]and to protect people and the safety of people,
[00:03:05.610]not only our students and faculty and staff
[00:03:08.350]but the greater society at large,
[00:03:10.810]have been challenging decisions,
[00:03:12.930]but they've been in the greater context
[00:03:15.520]easy decisions to make,
[00:03:17.720]to do the right thing
[00:03:19.190]and to step up and do the right thing
[00:03:20.970]for our society in general.
[00:03:22.600]So I feel quite good about the response
[00:03:26.310]that the university has had,
[00:03:27.830]the response our people have had,
[00:03:29.710]the response our faculty and staff and our students have had
[00:03:33.490]to pivot to this new way of operating
[00:03:36.860]that we're all under today.
[00:03:38.120]I couldn't be prouder of this university.
[00:03:40.315](gentle music)
[00:03:48.100]You know, I think of every person as a leader,
[00:03:51.310]and in the case when you are experiencing
[00:03:55.350]something as disruptive as this has been
[00:03:58.160]across all sectors of our society,
[00:04:00.580]individually and in families,
[00:04:03.740]in sectors of our economy
[00:04:05.760]and our greater society as a whole,
[00:04:07.930]not only here in Nebraska and in the US
[00:04:10.320]but all over the world,
[00:04:13.270]it's easy to feel like there might be panic
[00:04:16.320]or there might be, "How do I respond to this?"
[00:04:20.610]I was sharing with our leadership team
[00:04:23.220]early on in our conversations about this
[00:04:25.750]which went back for us,
[00:04:28.180]believe it or not into February, into mid to late February
[00:04:31.520]when we first started talking about,
[00:04:33.280]what could this become?
[00:04:36.110]What might the university need to do to respond to it?
[00:04:39.480]We actually began those conversations in late February
[00:04:43.210]in a very serious level,
[00:04:44.630]and I shared with our leadership team
[00:04:47.580]through all of those conversations
[00:04:49.518]that I felt really calm about this.
[00:04:53.380]I felt really not anxious about this.
[00:04:57.010]We could meet the challenge
[00:04:58.930]and we could be successful in moving forward.
[00:05:02.750]So I think one of the things that I would say
[00:05:06.820]that's been important in being a leader currently is
[00:05:11.800]that feeling of knowing that we can,
[00:05:14.570]that feeling of knowing that we will,
[00:05:17.830]that our people will step up,
[00:05:19.860]that they will be able to perform,
[00:05:21.870]they will be able to be resilient,
[00:05:23.800]they will be able to be adaptable.
[00:05:26.880]Never has that been more important in my career
[00:05:31.120]than it has been the last few weeks.
[00:05:33.370](gentle music)
[00:05:38.650]While that I think these are always important qualities
[00:05:42.670]that every leader needs to have,
[00:05:44.650]and I count every one of you in Nebraska Extension
[00:05:47.340]as a leader,
[00:05:49.290]but they're perhaps even more important
[00:05:52.080]in the current face of crisis
[00:05:55.090]that we're all experiencing and they include things like,
[00:05:59.600]trust
[00:06:00.980]and compassion and empathy.
[00:06:04.670]Being able to trust and believe
[00:06:07.040]that we are doing the right thing,
[00:06:09.380]that we are picking the right approach.
[00:06:12.380]Trusting our leaders.
[00:06:13.840]Trusting that they know that what we're doing
[00:06:16.310]is the right thing for all of us and for the common good.
[00:06:20.510]Compassion,
[00:06:22.020]certainly compassion for those who are confronted directly
[00:06:25.980]in their own health or in health of family members
[00:06:29.540]who are being impacted in serious ways
[00:06:33.090]by this onset of disease and dealing with that.
[00:06:36.540]Compassion for them certainly first and foremost.
[00:06:39.930]Compassion for those who are responding to that in ways
[00:06:44.350]that are on the front lines.
[00:06:46.590]Those in the health care sector.
[00:06:48.480]Those who are seeking solutions
[00:06:50.050]for how to address this long-term.
[00:06:52.330]How to deal with this virus
[00:06:53.820]and how to protect individuals from this virus.
[00:06:56.810]So those who provide our food.
[00:06:58.700]Those who make sure that it is able to be provided.
[00:07:02.250]Those that make it show up on the shelves for us everyday.
[00:07:06.820]Everyone who contributes in those ways.
[00:07:09.450]First responders that are there for us on a regular basis.
[00:07:13.620]So compassion for all of those individuals
[00:07:17.400]and thought and support for each of them.
[00:07:20.990]But compassion as well for the disruption
[00:07:23.480]that's true in everyone's lives.
[00:07:25.570]You know, I can't imagine in many ways
[00:07:28.950]what our faculty have had to do
[00:07:31.210]to respond to the need to go to remote access
[00:07:34.790]of all of our curriculum across the university
[00:07:37.730]for the remainder of the spring semester,
[00:07:40.630]and doing that while life is disrupted, right,
[00:07:44.570]life is disrupted with little children
[00:07:46.620]at the feet of many of our faculty,
[00:07:48.860]or families that they are taking care of,
[00:07:51.310]or protecting themselves
[00:07:52.830]under the face of a health challenge
[00:07:55.070]that might be true for them,
[00:07:57.160]and pivoting to a completely new and different format
[00:08:00.300]for delivering the outcomes that we want to deliver
[00:08:03.770]in our curriculum.
[00:08:05.140]Compassion for our students
[00:08:07.180]who frankly are on the other side of those cameras,
[00:08:09.800]who are responding to yet a different
[00:08:13.540]reality than what they expected
[00:08:16.320]to be able to continue their education
[00:08:18.400]and do that with resilience,
[00:08:19.900]to do that with grit,
[00:08:21.050]to do that with adaptability and flexibility
[00:08:23.760]in a way that they still will be able to learn
[00:08:26.260]and have the outcomes that they're seeking
[00:08:28.250]out of their coursework
[00:08:29.550]and their education here at the University of Nebraska.
[00:08:32.840]Compassion for our staff
[00:08:34.740]that are on the front lines on our campus
[00:08:36.630]protecting our community.
[00:08:38.330]So compassion across the board
[00:08:41.230]is an important characteristic
[00:08:43.860]that all of us need to have
[00:08:45.670]and experience through this time ahead,
[00:08:47.990]not only every day now,
[00:08:49.870]but also in the long-term future.
[00:08:52.640]Empathy, and empathy for the experiences
[00:08:56.370]that everyone is dealing with currently
[00:08:59.740]through this crisis.
[00:09:01.300]So trust,
[00:09:02.680]trust in that we're doing the right thing
[00:09:04.820]and trusting one another,
[00:09:06.900]compassion and empathy
[00:09:08.920]I think are the three very strong needs
[00:09:11.960]for all of us today.
[00:09:13.760]Communication is the last one that I would mention.
[00:09:16.810]Communicating on a regular basis
[00:09:18.860]even though we're doing it in a very different way.
[00:09:21.600]I'm not able to sit and talk to you across the room today,
[00:09:24.820]but we're doing it in this way,
[00:09:26.830]and the importance of that
[00:09:28.337]and the value and continued importance of dialogue
[00:09:31.980]and communication and open communication and transparency
[00:09:35.250]is important as well,
[00:09:37.410]especially in times where everything is different.
[00:09:39.940]So all of those would be very key and important things
[00:09:43.010]that I hope all of you
[00:09:45.230]are doing and continuing to do
[00:09:47.520]as well through this time.
[00:09:49.267](gentle music)
[00:09:55.590]Even though this has been a really disruptive time
[00:09:57.920]and we don't know how long it might be in the future,
[00:10:00.650]I'm absolutely confident
[00:10:02.720]that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:10:04.580]is going to emerge on the other side
[00:10:06.960]of the COVID-19 epidemic
[00:10:08.680]stronger, more resilient,
[00:10:11.950]ability to have our mission delivered in ways
[00:10:15.320]that we never imagined that it would,
[00:10:17.650]that we're gonna be a stronger institution
[00:10:19.910]on the other side of this global epidemic.
[00:10:22.922](gentle music)
[00:10:28.900]Nebraska Extension plays a pivotal role during this time.
[00:10:32.420]Every day Nebraska Extension is on the front lines
[00:10:35.390]as the engagement arm of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:10:39.030]in our three-part university mission,
[00:10:41.520]an equally important part of that mission
[00:10:44.450]to our education and our research missions.
[00:10:48.030]So in this crisis, in this time,
[00:10:51.140]that engagement mission is even more important, not less,
[00:10:55.540]in how we continue to interface with the public
[00:10:58.420]and all of the communities across the state of Nebraska.
[00:11:01.720]I know that you're doing that in creative ways,
[00:11:05.550]using your ingenuity to be able to communicate in ways
[00:11:08.910]that are even above and beyond what you normally do
[00:11:12.090]and we thank you for it.
[00:11:13.657](gentle music)
[00:11:19.520]We're actually taping this conversation on Good Friday,
[00:11:23.130]April the 10th, 2020,
[00:11:26.260]and when I got up this morning
[00:11:28.420]the first thing that I thought of
[00:11:29.890]is I meditated about the day
[00:11:31.660]and thought about the day ahead, the weekend ahead,
[00:11:35.480]personally for me the most holy day of the year
[00:11:38.070]in my own personal faith.
[00:11:40.080]I had an overwhelming sense of hope.
[00:11:43.500]Hope for the future,
[00:11:45.250]hope for the other side beyond COVID-19 in 2020.
[00:11:50.060]Just an overwhelming sense of hope,
[00:11:54.010]and it gives me great peace to know
[00:11:55.670]that we're gonna come out of this greater,
[00:11:57.730]we're gonna come out of this better.
[00:11:59.990]So I just want you to remember
[00:12:01.790]that hope is not something to be belittled.
[00:12:04.470]It's not something to say
[00:12:05.750]that it's not a solution or a cure, but it's important,
[00:12:09.080]and I have an overwhelming sense of hope
[00:12:11.000]that we're going to come out on the other side of this
[00:12:13.140]stronger and better.
[00:12:14.509](gentle music)
[00:12:17.670]Well, I hope this conversation has been helpful to you.
[00:12:20.250]I want to thank you again for everything you do
[00:12:23.560]on an ongoing and regular basis through Nebraska Extension
[00:12:27.080]for the University of Nebraska,
[00:12:28.960]for all of the people of the state of Nebraska.
[00:12:31.670]Stay safe, be strong and charge on.

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Downtime Dialogue: Ronnie Green

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