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Ronnie Green Author

02/17/2021 Added

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Ronnie Green talks about the 2021 State of Our University address, recent U.S. News rankings of online programs, and online career fairs. Green also discusses the possibility of an outdoor May commencement in Memorial Stadium.

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[00:00:00.280]Yeah, I guess. (Greg laughs)
[00:00:01.590]And great to see our man win. Yeah.
[00:00:03.160]Great to see him win yesterday,
[00:00:05.731]and to get that notch.
[00:00:08.680]Very excited for them.
[00:00:10.230]And a good weekend, in a lot of ways,
[00:00:12.820]for Husker Athletics with volleyball doin' well
[00:00:16.430]and with our men's gymnastics team havin' a winning meet,
[00:00:21.250]you know, track and field
[00:00:22.850]havin' some good things happen over the weekend
[00:00:25.180]and George Kusche re-breaking his own record,
[00:00:27.920]in the mile this weekend.
[00:00:29.670]So just great to see now they are 11 teams
[00:00:33.780]that we have competing at the expanded field,
[00:00:36.699]you know, the move of volleyball to the spring
[00:00:38.400]and kind of condensing of a lot of things
[00:00:40.380]into this time of year for the winter and spring.
[00:00:44.850]So just excited to be able to see
[00:00:48.260]us being able to compete
[00:00:50.000]and our student athletes being able to compete.
[00:00:52.760]Our fans to be able to cheer them on,
[00:00:54.500]although from a distance,
[00:00:56.120]being able to cheer them on
[00:00:58.590]as they compete during this time that we're in.
[00:01:01.440]And you know, on top of all of that, you know,
[00:01:05.130]we always have a lot of interest in Husker football,
[00:01:07.270]but it was certainly fun to see so many Nebraska connections
[00:01:10.300]to the Super Bowl with the Ndamukong and Lavonte.
[00:01:14.543]And you know, I've developed a good friendship
[00:01:17.480]with the Ndamukong over the last couple of years,
[00:01:19.840]so great to see them now wearing
[00:01:21.930]a Super Bowl championship ring
[00:01:24.380]from the Super Bowl last week.
[00:01:27.640]Yeah, it was fantastic.
[00:01:28.620]Well, you have had a very busy day.
[00:01:30.590]Earlier today, you presented the State of Our University.
[00:01:33.860]What were some of the highlights
[00:01:35.170]that you threw out for folks to hear?
[00:01:38.229]Well, we certainly, Greg, kind of reviewed 2020,
[00:01:42.490]and you know, we give the State of Our University address
[00:01:46.060]every year on our birthday, which was today.
[00:01:49.787]February 15th, 1869 was the founding
[00:01:52.560]of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
[00:01:54.390]so this is Charter Day, as we call it,
[00:01:56.960]and we started, a few years ago,
[00:01:58.700]giving the State of Our University address on this date,
[00:02:01.530]or as close to it as we can in the week.
[00:02:05.510]A lot to talk about, obviously,
[00:02:07.810]with how we have navigated the pandemic,
[00:02:10.320]how we have navigated some of
[00:02:11.800]the social unrest that we've seen,
[00:02:14.890]how we have really excelled as an institution.
[00:02:17.940]And I really spent time talking about that,
[00:02:20.710]how we've had pandemic immune momentum, in a lot of ways,
[00:02:24.850]and how proud I am of all of our faculty, staff,
[00:02:27.530]and students who have continued to achieve,
[00:02:30.460]even under these very limited conditions,
[00:02:34.115]if you wanna think of it that way,
[00:02:36.090]that have been placed on all of us due to the pandemic.
[00:02:40.340]We bucked national and regional trends
[00:02:42.440]of double digit in declining enrollments in higher ed,
[00:02:46.010]where we held our enrollment at UNL,
[00:02:49.280]only with a small decrease in international enrollment.
[00:02:52.210]You can kind of anticipate the year
[00:02:54.920]that international students have had
[00:02:57.570]and some of the challenges they've had.
[00:03:00.160]To be able to maintain that level of enrollment
[00:03:02.610]has been phenomenal for us.
[00:03:05.200]We were able to expand our offerings
[00:03:07.360]both in summer school, last summer,
[00:03:09.980]where our enrollment was up 8% over previous years
[00:03:14.470]and expanded opportunities for our students to continue
[00:03:17.270]to move towards their degrees.
[00:03:19.860]We had our third largest graduating class in history
[00:03:23.800]during the biggest public health emergency
[00:03:25.990]in the last hundred years.
[00:03:27.280]That's something that we certainly are celebrating.
[00:03:30.040]And then, most recently,
[00:03:32.670]you know, when we changed our schedules
[00:03:34.490]to accommodate greater safety
[00:03:37.660]and to limit travel,
[00:03:38.990]from not having Thanksgiving break and Christmas break.
[00:03:42.540]Finishing prior to Thanksgiving in the fall,
[00:03:45.210]gave us the opportunity to have three a week sessions,
[00:03:49.400]one in December and one in January,
[00:03:52.390]before we restarted spring semester,
[00:03:54.450]what we've taken to calling our "winterim" session.
[00:03:58.800]And nearly 4,000 of our students
[00:04:01.190]took over 10,000 student credit hours
[00:04:03.470]of coursework during those sessions,
[00:04:05.280]so just the level that we have
[00:04:07.640]seen our university up its game
[00:04:10.940]during the time of the pandemic was,
[00:04:13.840]is special, and we celebrated that a little bit
[00:04:17.170]in the State of The University today.
[00:04:19.360]The fact we were the most in-person,
[00:04:21.990]have been the most in-person,
[00:04:23.390]educational institution in the big 10,
[00:04:26.790]we've celebrated that under the conditions that we have.
[00:04:30.970]We also talked about
[00:04:33.150]how we've continued in our scholarship as an institution.
[00:04:36.000]Now we set another research record this past year,
[00:04:39.430]even in a pandemic,
[00:04:42.210]so moving forward in that arena
[00:04:44.470]in a way that's been wonderful.
[00:04:46.800]And we also announced, for the first time publicly,
[00:04:50.650]building on our in 2025 Five-year Strategic Plan
[00:04:54.470]that we really unveiled last year
[00:04:57.960]in the State of the University address,
[00:04:59.760]the five-year strategic plan for UNL.
[00:05:03.380]Seven grand challenge areas that we're going to focus in,
[00:05:07.364]in the time ahead, by for UNL
[00:05:10.340]and our research and scholarship and creative activity.
[00:05:12.900]Not the only things that we'll do.
[00:05:14.720]We're a comprehensive research university,
[00:05:17.240]but putting special emphasis in these areas
[00:05:20.650]that are important, big problems
[00:05:22.690]to in Nebraska and the world as a whole,
[00:05:25.490]So announced those publicly in the State of the University.
[00:05:29.130]Things like sustainable water and food security,
[00:05:31.610]early childhood education and development,
[00:05:33.680]climate change mitigation and resilience,
[00:05:35.810]and quantum science and engineering,
[00:05:37.390]four areas that UNL has been known in,
[00:05:40.870]historically, as an international leader,
[00:05:43.140]and will continue to build and grow those even further.
[00:05:46.810]But also, things like health equity,
[00:05:49.920]anti-racism and racial equity,
[00:05:52.050]and science and technology literacy for society,
[00:05:54.850]areas that we need to be engaged in
[00:05:57.840]and moving forward as an institution,
[00:06:00.320]so very excited about that.
[00:06:02.138]Excited about the process that our faculty and staff
[00:06:04.880]went through this past year
[00:06:06.250]to identify those grand challenge themes
[00:06:09.730]for the institution moving forward.
[00:06:12.720]So just a wonderful opportunity to talk
[00:06:15.560]about the momentum and the progress that the university has,
[00:06:19.820]I said, at the end of the address,
[00:06:22.660]that I believe that our best days lie ahead
[00:06:26.260]for UNL and our history immediately lie ahead of us,
[00:06:29.930]because of the leadership role that we have had, nationally,
[00:06:33.830]in higher ed during this pandemic.
[00:06:37.200]So I'm very pleased, a fun day,
[00:06:39.450]even though it was a virtual event,
[00:06:42.670]and it was colder than all blue blazes, as they would say,
[00:06:45.590]where I grew up. (Greg chuckles)
[00:06:47.070]It was great to be able to share that event,
[00:06:50.940]and mark our birthday, our 152nd birthday
[00:06:53.960]of the flagship university for Nebraska.
[00:06:56.940]Very good, Ronny Green with us here on Sports Nine
[00:06:59.140]the chancellor for the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
[00:07:01.120]On our show, Ronnie, we talked a lot
[00:07:02.540]about rankings in sports,
[00:07:03.920]and I know the same is true for college programs.
[00:07:07.490]This time of year, we tend to hear about
[00:07:09.100]some new rankings of online programs.
[00:07:11.440]Have we got some of that information,
[00:07:12.750]and how did Nebraska do?
[00:07:15.495]Well, and yeah we do, Greg.
[00:07:16.700]And we continued to see
[00:07:18.560]some high-level rankings for our programs,
[00:07:22.690]including two online master's degree programs
[00:07:26.320]that were ranked among the top 25 programs, nationally,
[00:07:29.990]by U.S. New and World Report.
[00:07:32.700]Our online Master of Business Administration,
[00:07:35.140]the MBA, online MBA program,
[00:07:37.440]jumped five places from last year
[00:07:39.840]to be ranked 17th among online EBA programs, nationally.
[00:07:44.560]That's pretty good company that we're in
[00:07:47.330]and amongst the very best in the big 10,
[00:07:49.450]so we're very pleased about that
[00:07:52.027]and the continued excellence in our College of Business
[00:07:54.970]in the online MBA.
[00:07:57.090]And our Master of Engineering Management degree also moved
[00:08:01.795]up two places from last year
[00:08:04.370]to be ranked 21st among programs across the country,
[00:08:07.840]so both of those faring really well
[00:08:10.130]on the U.S. News and World Report
[00:08:12.290]national rankings for online programs.
[00:08:15.330]those programs, as I mentioned on the MBA a minute ago,
[00:08:18.640]compare very favorably among the big 10
[00:08:21.180]and public universities more generally.
[00:08:23.650]The online MBA ranked 4th
[00:08:26.050]amongst the big 10 universities,
[00:08:28.590]and the online Masters in Engineering ranked 6th.
[00:08:32.184]And if you know a little bit about the big 10,
[00:08:34.900]one of the characteristics of the big 10 is
[00:08:37.500]it contains some of the very best business colleges
[00:08:41.020]and colleges of engineering in the country.
[00:08:44.180]So to be ranked that highly in these online programs
[00:08:48.100]is something to be quite proud of.
[00:08:50.620]Our MBA online ranked 13th among online MBA programs
[00:08:55.450]offered by all public universities, across the country.
[00:08:59.490]There's 262 of those public universities in the country.
[00:09:04.540]And our Engineering Management online masters ranked 17th
[00:09:08.680]among online programs offered by all public universities.
[00:09:11.760]So just great examples of the world-class education
[00:09:15.650]that our students are able to receive here at Nebraska,
[00:09:19.925]and very pleased for both the College of Business
[00:09:22.270]and for Nebraska Engineering in these latest rankings.
[00:09:26.670]That is fantastic.
[00:09:28.020]I imagine that interest in those online programs,
[00:09:30.650]Chancellor, has gone up during COVID.
[00:09:32.610]How has the pandemic affected the ways
[00:09:35.690]that the university helps students
[00:09:37.070]connect with potential employers?
[00:09:40.810]Well, and Greg, you mentioned
[00:09:43.440]that we have seen increased online enrollment as well.
[00:09:47.850]We've continued to see growth in online enrollment.
[00:09:51.060]Now, these two particular programs
[00:09:52.853]that we were just talking about are graduate programs,
[00:09:55.290]masters degree programs. Right.
[00:09:57.360]But we've also continued to see online enrollment
[00:10:00.260]increase annually, at a pretty fair clip,
[00:10:03.700]in undergrad programs as well at the university,
[00:10:07.470]and we continued to see that this year,
[00:10:09.190]not just because of COVID-19,
[00:10:11.430]but organically, on its own as well.
[00:10:16.030]And then, relative to employers
[00:10:18.420]and matching of students up with employers
[00:10:20.870]and the career fair kind of environment that we have,
[00:10:24.640]we have a very robust career fair process
[00:10:28.630]at UNL each semester.
[00:10:30.910]And of course last year, last fall,
[00:10:34.870]we shifted to an online format for that
[00:10:37.730]to accommodate the pandemic,
[00:10:40.030]and it turned out to be a huge success for us,
[00:10:42.480]drawing nearly 2000 of our students,
[00:10:44.607]more than 200 employers from across the state,
[00:10:48.040]the region and the, and the country,
[00:10:50.380]and we're now gearing up for a second round
[00:10:53.550]of those virtual fairs coming up here very quickly,
[00:10:57.270]you know, the 23rd through the 26th of February.
[00:11:01.171]So what we continue to hear is,
[00:11:04.310]both from students and employers,
[00:11:07.230]is that this is a really convenient, easy way
[00:11:10.720]to connect and learn about opportunities.
[00:11:12.670]You know, there are some silver linings to this pandemic,
[00:11:15.160]and one of the silver linings is,
[00:11:17.210]some of the things we're doing remotely are convenient
[00:11:20.250]and easy in that way,
[00:11:22.420]and this has turned out also to be one of those.
[00:11:26.790]During our fairs last fall,
[00:11:29.640]we logged over 6,400 unique student employer interactions,
[00:11:34.330]in those 2000 students and 200 employers,
[00:11:38.210]and it just makes for the ease and convenience of that,
[00:11:41.670]for employers and for students to be able
[00:11:44.350]to prepare questions ahead of time, to really think about
[00:11:47.110]how they have that interaction as well.
[00:11:51.210]Now, when a recruiter, as we know,
[00:11:53.310]recognizes and knows you on a first name basis,
[00:11:55.760]it can do wonders or the job search.
[00:11:58.560]But we were pleased that we're doing all that we can
[00:12:02.070]to help our students bond and connect with careers
[00:12:04.750]and to succeed in that employment marketplace
[00:12:08.100]that is important for them
[00:12:09.300]as they are working to finish their degrees.
[00:12:12.430]And I should have just mention then as well here, Greg,
[00:12:17.110]I've been working with our commencement committee.
[00:12:19.690]You know, we haven't been able to have live commencements
[00:12:23.220]over the last two cycles and last May
[00:12:25.530]and then in August and and in December,
[00:12:29.410]but we are thinking about, and hoping,
[00:12:31.480]that we will be able to have a live commencement in May.
[00:12:35.750]And in planning for that, we have learned that,
[00:12:39.627]you know, we are expecting, based on our numbers,
[00:12:43.310]to see a record graduating class for the institution.
[00:12:46.570]We thought two years ago,
[00:12:49.830]when we had the record setting class
[00:12:51.720]that graduated in May of 19, that
[00:12:56.100]that was going to be our peak class
[00:12:58.760]for the next several years,
[00:13:00.040]but we have exceeded that,
[00:13:01.680]based on a lot of students speeding up
[00:13:04.960]their completion of their degrees
[00:13:06.800]through the time of the pandemic,
[00:13:08.270]like I was talkin' about earlier,
[00:13:09.840]by taking additional courses and in additional terms
[00:13:13.320]that we've been able to offer.
[00:13:15.020]So looking forward to a record graduating class in May,
[00:13:19.150]and just put a little bird in the hat here.
[00:13:21.880]We're actually talking about potentially doing that
[00:13:25.280]as a commencement ceremony in Memorial Stadium,
[00:13:29.860]to have the opportunity to reward our students
[00:13:33.450]in this time of COVID
[00:13:35.980]and everything that they have been through this past year.
[00:13:40.150]Hopefully we can figure out how to make that happen,
[00:13:42.720]and be in conditions, in May, that will allow it to happen.
[00:13:46.980]Well, that's fantastic.
[00:13:48.917]And people would be thrilled to hear that
[00:13:50.390]that's at least on the table right now,
[00:13:52.000]as you sit here in mid February.
[00:13:54.110]Chancellor, thank you so much.
[00:13:55.390]Happy birthday to the university.
[00:13:56.960]Great job today on your State of the University.
[00:13:59.287]And we certainly like
[00:14:00.600]getting the chance to catch up with you from time to time.
[00:14:03.820]Well, I appreciate it, Greg.
[00:14:05.000]And again, Just a shout out to all of our student athletes.
[00:14:08.490]And I said this in the State of the University today,
[00:14:11.520]to our student athletes and their coaches and their staff,
[00:14:14.740]Sadie, Bill Moos and his leadership team,
[00:14:16.940]for everything that Husker athletics
[00:14:19.210]has done to navigate this time.
[00:14:21.210]It's been tough.
[00:14:23.110]It's been hard.
[00:14:25.150]You know, just even the level
[00:14:27.170]of intense testing and safety protocols
[00:14:29.420]that our student athletes have gone through
[00:14:33.350]is a real testament to their commitment, their dedication,
[00:14:37.085]and their perseverance and resilience,
[00:14:40.240]and my hats off to them
[00:14:42.590]for everything that they have done to make the best
[00:14:45.277]of the conditions that we've had.
[00:14:47.150]So lookin' forward to the rest of the season.
[00:14:50.720]There you go. Chancellor, we appreciate it.
[00:14:51.970]Thank you.
[00:14:53.547]You bet. Go Big Red.

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