Sports Nightly May 7

Ronnie Green Author

05/11/2020 Added

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Ronnie Green talks about broadcast May graduation celebration on May 9, how UNL has pivoted to remote learning and plans for in-person classes in the fall.

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[00:00:00.000]Hopefully, I know it's been a crazy six,
[00:00:02.120]eight weeks for you,
[00:00:03.070]and a lot of folks around the campus.
[00:00:05.540]Hello Greg, It's good to hear your voice,
[00:00:08.490]and to get a chance to visit.
[00:00:09.350]It has been a while,
[00:00:10.250]I was kidding you earlier
[00:00:12.455]that everyday until COVID-19 landed,
[00:00:16.010]I know it feels like a lot longer than a day for people,
[00:00:19.010]so it feels like it's been a long time since we talked,
[00:00:22.070]but things are good.
[00:00:23.276]We're navigating this environment that we're in,
[00:00:26.260]and all happy, healthy, and safe.
[00:00:29.580]And it's just good to be with you tonight.
[00:00:32.290]Chancellor I know one of your favorite times of the year
[00:00:34.680]is graduation, which would have this coming weekend.
[00:00:38.010]Take me through the plan for the May graduation,
[00:00:40.086]and how did you arrive at some of that?
[00:00:43.553]Well it is a big weekend for us and for our graduates,
[00:00:48.330]most importantly for their families,
[00:00:50.704]big tradition at Nebraska.
[00:00:52.308]We have one of the biggest traditions
[00:00:55.004]in commencements nationally amongst institutions
[00:00:57.958]where a very high percentage of our graduates
[00:01:00.900]actually participate live, in commencement with us.
[00:01:05.370]So when we knew pretty early into this pandemic
[00:01:11.183]that it was going to be unlikely to be able to do that
[00:01:14.650]in person like we normally do,
[00:01:16.570]so we started planning really hard with our students
[00:01:21.287]and with our graduates,
[00:01:22.790]talking with them about what would be best
[00:01:26.050]for them and for their families.
[00:01:27.930]So on Saturday just here in a couple of days,
[00:01:31.595]we'll have a graduation celebration
[00:01:34.870]with the record-setting class for the university
[00:01:38.410]in our 151 year history.
[00:01:40.180]35,055 Graduates, that are participating in this
[00:01:44.906]graduation celebration with us.
[00:01:47.884]And we're doing it in a variety of ways
[00:01:50.839]with them on Saturday.
[00:01:52.530]So at 9 o'clock on Saturday morning on NET,
[00:01:56.910]we'll be broadcasting the graduation celebration program
[00:02:01.160]for all of our graduates and their families
[00:02:03.380]all over the world.
[00:02:05.230]You normally, we would have graduate ceremonies tomorrow
[00:02:08.409]for our masters and doctorals graduates.
[00:02:11.747]And then on Saturday we would have had two commencement
[00:02:15.270]ceremonies for our undergrads,
[00:02:17.540]where we have so many graduates now we can't all fit
[00:02:19.980]in at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
[00:02:22.350]So beginning last year we went to two ceremonies
[00:02:26.270]for our undergraduate students.
[00:02:28.380]And then the Law College also will graduate on Saturday.
[00:02:32.810]So while we're doing is one program,
[00:02:35.000]a half hour, on NET.
[00:02:38.066]We have devised a way for our commencement speaker,
[00:02:42.760]I think you know this guy, his name is John Cook,
[00:02:46.730]the ball coach at Nebraska,
[00:02:48.870]was scheduled to be our commencement speaker.
[00:02:51.500]Which is a big honor to be asked
[00:02:53.570]to be the commencement speaker.
[00:02:54.935]We intentionally had asked John some number of months ago,
[00:02:59.969]because we thought he had so much to say to our graduates.
[00:03:04.100]He's a first-generation college graduate himself,
[00:03:07.307]and he's delivering his commencement message,
[00:03:11.548]to our graduates in that program.
[00:03:13.820]Has some really powerful things to say to our graduates.
[00:03:18.250]We have about 40 notable hustler alums
[00:03:21.228]who have chimed in and created messages,
[00:03:25.594]and greetings for our graduates,
[00:03:27.840]that will be part of that celebration event
[00:03:32.020]on Saturday morning.
[00:03:33.140]Including a guy named Warren Buffet,
[00:03:35.890]who is probably our most famous alum,
[00:03:39.770]of the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:03:41.400]And Warren has some important words to say to our graduates.
[00:03:46.040]We were able to capture that with him
[00:03:48.212]during this Covid-19 time period that we've been in.
[00:03:52.300]So it's just going to be a celebratory time,
[00:03:54.930]all the way through the day.
[00:03:57.040]Our graduates have submitted to us their thoughts,
[00:04:01.095]their experiences while at UNL,
[00:04:05.652]and what this graduation means to them.
[00:04:09.210]And those will be scrolling throughout the day online
[00:04:13.100]as part of the celebration as well.
[00:04:14.840]So we're really looking forward to Saturday,
[00:04:16.799]and even though it's not a commencement in life
[00:04:19.543]like we normally would have,
[00:04:21.920]we're celebrating it in this moment.
[00:04:23.820]We'll get to turn the tassels with these students.
[00:04:26.180]They received boxes from us over the last week,
[00:04:30.338]Go Big Grad celebration box that had their cap and tassel
[00:04:35.239]and honors that they would have
[00:04:37.090]received individually from us,
[00:04:39.880]along with a lot of greetings from the university.
[00:04:42.341]So looking forward to that day on Saturday.
[00:04:45.690]Oh, it's gonna be fantastic as it should be.
[00:04:47.820]It's an incredible moment,
[00:04:48.897]it's a great accomplishment to graduate from a university,
[00:04:52.330]like the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:04:54.114]Well, graduates always get the question, Chancellor,
[00:04:57.080]what's next?
[00:04:58.238]Is there some good news out there
[00:04:59.980]among these Nebraska grads that you can share with us?
[00:05:03.004]Yeah, there is, and before I do that,
[00:05:07.178]I just would kinda add Greg.
[00:05:09.710]You know graduation means so much to each individual person.
[00:05:15.110]You know, this particular class,
[00:05:17.401]I shared this with them at the beginning of the year
[00:05:21.290]and again when we had to kind of pivot
[00:05:23.290]to this kind of altered plan
[00:05:25.890]for their graduation celebration.
[00:05:28.340]This is a really special class to me personally.
[00:05:31.395]These students entered as freshmen,
[00:05:34.100]the first year that I had the privilege to serve
[00:05:36.530]in this role as Chancellor of UNL.
[00:05:38.570]So we've kind of grown up together, if you will,
[00:05:42.380]and they'll always hold a special place in my heart.
[00:05:46.639]As this class, and I was reflecting back just recently,
[00:05:52.850]you know my father in law,
[00:05:55.057]Wilbur Paulie was a first-generation
[00:05:57.610]college graduate from Harvard, Nebraska.
[00:05:59.860]Graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1950.
[00:06:03.530]I know what this meant to him,
[00:06:05.770]I know what it's meant to my wife and I
[00:06:07.530]as graduates of this great institution.
[00:06:09.540]All four of our children are graduates of UNL.
[00:06:14.430]The graduation moment is just so meaningful,
[00:06:17.580]in a lot of ways.
[00:06:18.980]And we are celebrating the success that these graduates
[00:06:22.630]are going to go into the future with.
[00:06:24.612]Even in these kind of disruptive times,
[00:06:27.832]our students who are graduating
[00:06:30.340]are going on to great things.
[00:06:32.340]Just a couple of examples out of this record-setting class,
[00:06:36.094]Gauri Ramesh, who is a Senior Computer Science major
[00:06:39.780]from Omaha, part of the
[00:06:40.840]Raikes School of Computer Science and Management,
[00:06:43.140]where she's pursued her degree here these past four years.
[00:06:46.234]In August, she starts her first time position
[00:06:49.739]as a software engineer, at Microsoft in Seattle.
[00:06:53.300]We've been featuring some of her thoughts about that
[00:06:56.210]over the past several days on campus.
[00:06:58.930]When she was here on campus,
[00:07:01.500]she helped found Girls CODE Lincoln.
[00:07:03.980]That's a nonprofit in the Haymarket,
[00:07:06.040]that teaches fourth, through ninth grade girls,
[00:07:09.090]computer programming and leadership skills.
[00:07:11.260]Just an example of the kind of students
[00:07:13.360]that we're graduating.
[00:07:14.530]We wish Gauri the best.
[00:07:17.000]Josh Keller, he learned a doctorate in Human Sciences
[00:07:20.880]with specialization in Exercise Physiology.
[00:07:23.800]Came here from Ohio,
[00:07:25.522]to study especially with Dr. Terry Housh.
[00:07:29.410]Looking forward to a faculty position, going to Alabama,
[00:07:32.510]where he'll be in a faculty role.
[00:07:33.890]Just story after story like that,
[00:07:36.570]amongst this record setting class for us.
[00:07:40.000]You know fortunately, right before COVID-19
[00:07:44.420]disrupted things for us this semester,
[00:07:46.900]we had been able to successfully complete
[00:07:49.100]our career fairs, for the year for the university.
[00:07:52.407]And we're still getting inquiries,
[00:07:54.880]and networking for students to land in
[00:07:57.730]those first positions coming out
[00:08:00.023]of their experience in Nabraska.
[00:08:02.189]So looking forward to what this class is going to do.
[00:08:05.210]We know that they have a huge future ahead of them,
[00:08:08.860]they're well prepared.
[00:08:10.270]Other education is putting them out with great skill sets
[00:08:14.385]to bring to the public.
[00:08:17.340]we wish them all the very best.
[00:08:19.370]Chancellor when we get to the end of a school year,
[00:08:21.190]we usually are celebrating the past school year,
[00:08:24.140]and that got maybe pushed to the side,
[00:08:25.960]because of our lack of ability to all be together.
[00:08:29.110]But are there some students or some faculty,
[00:08:31.850]that have earned some special honors
[00:08:33.420]or recognitions during the last month or so?
[00:08:37.020]Yeah, well, there's a couple things
[00:08:38.563]that I'd want to mention tonight, Greg.
[00:08:41.689]You know, this has been a record setting year for us,
[00:08:44.860]in recognition of our faculty and our students.
[00:08:48.760]We just got word this week that nine of our students
[00:08:52.689]have been named as Fulbright Scholars.
[00:08:55.210]We continue to be one of the leading institutions
[00:08:57.680]nationally, and the number of Fulbrights
[00:09:00.380]that come from our institution,
[00:09:02.320]and go all over the world, with those opportunities.
[00:09:05.880]so nine new winners, and eight of those students
[00:09:10.700]graduated from Nebraska High School.
[00:09:12.730]So the Nebraska impact
[00:09:16.610]through the Fulbright program continues.
[00:09:19.326]And we're very excited for those students
[00:09:21.830]and the opportunities that they're going to have.
[00:09:24.460]Because of COVID-19 normally our Fulbright Scholars
[00:09:27.860]would be going out now, starting in the summer.
[00:09:30.640]They're delayed a bit, they'll be delayed,
[00:09:33.380]and start in January instead.
[00:09:35.070]But we wish them the very best.
[00:09:36.930]And then last week, we got some very big news
[00:09:40.300]for the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:09:42.560]In that one of our faculty members, Dr. Ray Haynes,
[00:09:46.380]a faculty member in our
[00:09:47.420]Department of Anthropology and the College of Arts
[00:09:49.720]and Sciences, was named to the National Academy of Sciences.
[00:09:53.683]The biggest honor a faculty member can receive,
[00:09:56.851]in the world is to be named to the
[00:09:59.330]National Academy of Sciences in the United States,
[00:10:02.491]or the National Academy of Engineering,
[00:10:04.760]or the National Academy of Medicine.
[00:10:07.240]There are only four individuals from Nebraska
[00:10:10.900]who had been named to the
[00:10:11.880]National Academy of Sciences in history.
[00:10:14.690]All four of them have been members
[00:10:16.520]of the faculty of the University of Nebraska like him.
[00:10:19.600]And Ray is the first person to be named to the academy
[00:10:22.580]since 2003, from Nebraska.
[00:10:25.440]So, very proud of that accomplishment for him,
[00:10:28.616]and what it says about his career,
[00:10:31.120]his work, and the stature of our faculty
[00:10:34.160]across the institution.
[00:10:35.450]And then lastly, in this time of COVID-19,
[00:10:38.780]where we're all challenged for the world is,
[00:10:41.928]looking for all those illusions to confront
[00:10:44.593]this challenge and to protect our people around the world.
[00:10:48.788]It's been really heartening to see
[00:10:51.190]how the university has stepped up.
[00:10:53.630]Both in terms of filling gaps,
[00:10:56.950]and finding ways to provide help to our healthcare system,
[00:11:01.280]and to our first responders,
[00:11:03.180]that are there on the front lines.
[00:11:05.210]Things like hand sanitizer that's now been produced
[00:11:09.150]in conjunction with the Nebraska ethanol industry,
[00:11:12.015]and Innovation Campus, and our food processing center.
[00:11:15.250]Our engineers there have now produced over 35,000 gallons
[00:11:19.630]of hand sanitizer for use all across Nebraska,
[00:11:23.126]in the healthcare system and first responders.
[00:11:26.680]Now in the meat processing sector,
[00:11:29.480]the USDA Food Safety and Inspection services
[00:11:32.390]being provided nationwide, from our from our services.
[00:11:36.320]They're just a great, great story of service.
[00:11:39.770]Face shields which have been prototyped, designed,
[00:11:43.450]and manufactured, now are over 20,000
[00:11:46.870]of these face shields have been produced
[00:11:48.860]at Nebraska Innovation Studio,
[00:11:50.540]on Nebraska Innovation Campus.
[00:11:52.240]Our engineers, and Virtual Incision,
[00:11:55.094]and company partners, working with us.
[00:11:57.874]Great work there, gowns and masks that are being produced.
[00:12:01.800]Ventilators, extending the use of ventilators,
[00:12:05.034]multiple patients on single ventilators
[00:12:08.780]from our engineering faculty.
[00:12:10.240]I could go on, and on,
[00:12:11.870]but these important kind of contributions,
[00:12:14.087]the land grant university mission
[00:12:16.880]is doing its very best here.
[00:12:18.885]And then lastly, Greg, I'll tell you, you know,
[00:12:23.670]there are times in life where you see
[00:12:26.420]the very best in people come out.
[00:12:29.100]And I'm not surprised by this,
[00:12:31.490]but I will just gotta say that,
[00:12:34.970]in this disruptive time we're,
[00:12:38.140]where we've had to pivot entirely to be successful
[00:12:42.500]in completing the current semester,
[00:12:44.440]and graduating the students we were talking about earlier.
[00:12:47.480]Moving forward to a very exciting fall.
[00:12:50.000]We're now planning to be back on campus,
[00:12:52.311]as a community and person with our student body,
[00:12:55.670]and our faculty.
[00:12:57.114]The very best in people that has come out.
[00:13:00.320]I cannot tell you how appreciative I've been
[00:13:03.510]of the efforts of our faculty, and of our staff,
[00:13:06.860]to be able to pivot through this moment,
[00:13:09.300]and still deliver on our mission in the way that they have.
[00:13:13.594]I'm so impressed with what has happened
[00:13:17.791]in this time of disruption.
[00:13:19.920]And I've just got a call out say how proud I am
[00:13:22.990]of the institution, and of its people,
[00:13:25.700]as we've moved through this time.
[00:13:28.010]And you have every right to be Chancellor,
[00:13:29.800]and I know now you've recently,
[00:13:31.290]the plans haven't been announced
[00:13:32.760]that you are planning to be open for business
[00:13:34.987]in the fall on campus.
[00:13:36.087]And I know that was really important for you
[00:13:39.070]that the President to come out with that here
[00:13:40.750]in the last week or so.
[00:13:41.648]So students have something that they can look forward to
[00:13:45.450]here in a few months.
[00:13:46.710]Yeah, you know, it's August feels right now.
[00:13:49.960]It feels like it's a long time away.
[00:13:51.760]It's about three months from now.
[00:13:53.550]We expect to be back in session on campus.
[00:13:56.530]We are working round the clock,
[00:13:58.308]thinking about how we're going to make this happen,
[00:14:01.680]and happen successfully.
[00:14:03.480]All hands on deck, so to speak across the university,
[00:14:06.450]and planning how to deliver our curriculum and our mission.
[00:14:10.470]You know, we're thinking about
[00:14:11.390]there seven days in the week, not five.
[00:14:13.460]There are 12 hours in the day, not eight.
[00:14:16.620]There are venues that we wouldn't normally use
[00:14:19.390]for spreading out our classes,
[00:14:21.300]and spreading out people across our curriculum.
[00:14:24.270]We're gonna make it happen.
[00:14:26.070]And we're going to be successful in doing that.
[00:14:28.210]In ways that are what we probably can't even imagine,
[00:14:31.528]entirely right now.
[00:14:32.900]And we're excited to sink our teeth into it.
[00:14:37.120]And I cannot tell you how anxious we are,
[00:14:40.120]how excited and anticipatory we are,
[00:14:42.320]about having our students back, on our campus,
[00:14:45.270]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:14:47.360]Well, very good Chancellor again, thank you so much
[00:14:49.530]for spending some time with us.
[00:14:51.050]Enjoy Saturday, I hope everybody enjoys it.
[00:14:53.290]I know you and a lot of people put a lot of effort
[00:14:55.190]into trying to make this a very special graduation
[00:14:57.990]for the class of 2020.
[00:14:59.748]We sure will Greg, good to see you.
[00:15:02.370]Good to hear your voice,
[00:15:03.550]look forward to being
[00:15:04.383]in person with you next time.

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