State of Our University 2022

Ronnie Green Author

09/28/2022 Added

336 Plays

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Following a performance by the Varsity Men's Chorus, Chancellor Ronnie Green delivers his report on the State of Our University. Recorded Sept 28, 2022.

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[00:00:03.480]The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, along with the Glenn Korff
[00:00:06.870]School of Music proudly presents under the direction of Dr. Pete Eklund with
[00:00:10.770]accompanist Ronnie Zanella, The University of Nebraska Varsity Men's Chorus.
[00:01:10.320]Hail to the team
[00:01:13.740]and to the Scarlet and Cream
[00:01:43.710]I travel east and west, I travel north and south...
[00:02:14.070]rolling plains and valleys
[00:02:43.980]Nebraska, that's my home state...
[00:03:18.020]The University of Nebraska-Lincoln would like to begin by acknowledging that the
[00:03:21.620]University of Nebraska is a land grant institution with campuses and programs on
[00:03:26.240]the past, present and future homelands of the Pawnee, Ponco, Otoe-Missouria,
[00:03:32.210]Omaha, Dakota, Lakota, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Apache and Kaw Peoples as well as the
[00:03:39.740]relocated Ho Chunk, Iowa and Sac and Fox peoples. Land acknowledgments are not
[00:03:45.530]substitutes for relationships with indigenous peoples. But they are an important
[00:03:49.580]first step. Please take a moment to consider the legacies of more than 150 years
[00:03:54.140]of displacement, violence, settlement and survival that bring us together here
[00:03:58.850]today. This acknowledgement in the centering of indigenous peoples is a start as
[00:04:04.130]we move forward together for the next 150 years.
[00:04:09.740]Thank you for joining us for the state of our university address. Please welcome
[00:04:13.880]the 20th Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Ronnie Green.
[00:04:26.090]Well, good morning. I want to start this morning by asking you to join me in
[00:04:30.170]giving a big round of applause to our Varsity Men's Chorus, who you just saw
[00:04:34.280]under the direction of Dr. Pete Eklund.
[00:04:44.420]Welcome to the 2022 State of our University discussion today. It's fitting that
[00:04:51.860]we give these remarks following a time that we took to honor the celebration of
[00:04:56.180]service and commitment of our people.
[00:05:00.000]at UNL we do big things that starts with the university's faculty and staff, all
[00:05:08.010]5844 of you, we could do nothing without your commitment, your ingenuity, and
[00:05:16.470]your servant leadership, and you indeed make everything that we do here
[00:05:21.210]possible. We just honored our service award recipients. And I want to highlight
[00:05:27.120]in starting this morning, just a few of them.
[00:05:30.380]F Gregory Hayden, professor of economics in our College of Business with 55
[00:05:36.230]years of service to this institution. His research has been devoted to the
[00:05:41.030]development of the social fabric matrix development of a meta policymaking
[00:05:45.980]paradigm and the application of instrumental philosophy to policy analysis. Kay
[00:05:53.300]Klundt, office supervisor at our Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center
[00:05:57.860]at Mead with 50 years of service to our institution. Kay seeks out solutions to
[00:06:05.000]make things happen. And her adaptability and her can do attitude have been an
[00:06:10.400]asset to many people over the years at the eastern Nebraska Center,
[00:06:16.460]Gwen Nugent, Research Professor in the Nebraska Center for Research on Children
[00:06:21.740]Families, Children and Schools with 45 years of service in recent years when has
[00:06:29.090]been a part of teams that have been awarded significant grants to strengthen
[00:06:33.620]services for infants and toddlers, and to strengthen Nebraska's K through eight
[00:06:39.080]computer science curriculum.
[00:06:42.200]It's not just the commitment of our people. Many of you have received
[00:06:46.340]significant accolades and awards in your fields in the past year. And while I
[00:06:52.160]only have time this morning to recognize a few you saw in the video that ran
[00:06:57.050]before the presentation today and that will run afterwards. The we're
[00:07:01.340]celebrating many more achievements.
[00:07:04.730]Julia McQuillan with her Willa Cather, professor of sociology, and Judy Walker,
[00:07:11.960]Aaron Douglas professor of mathematics, were both awarded the a Fellow award of
[00:07:17.270]the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest
[00:07:21.620]multidisciplinary scientific society this past year, which coincidentally, was
[00:07:26.960]founded by our very own Charles Bessey.
[00:07:30.740]Mattias Fuchs, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy was named a Kavli
[00:07:35.360]fellow by the National Academy of Sciences this year. And seven Husker faculty
[00:07:41.990]seen here on the slide behind me earned grants from the National Science
[00:07:46.370]Foundation's faculty early career development program.
[00:07:51.170]You all saw the faces of new leaders or people in new leadership roles in the
[00:07:56.270]video that ran before, including Executive Vice Chancellor Kathy Andkerson,
[00:08:01.760]Interim Vice Chancellor of business and finance Mary LaGrange, Vice Chancellor
[00:08:06.140]and Director of Athletics Trev Alberts, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and
[00:08:10.400]Performing Arts Dean Andy Belser, and Dean of Nebraska Extension, Charlie
[00:08:15.620]Stoltenow.
[00:08:17.660]I get to stand up every year and expound on the great things happening at our
[00:08:21.860]university. But every noteworthy story has a UNL person or team behind it.
[00:08:29.810]You are the ones that I'm in awe of, and who make this university such a very
[00:08:34.880]special place.
[00:08:37.890]We are the public flagship land grant comprehensive research University of
[00:08:42.270]Nebraska. And our primary mission is the world class education of our
[00:08:47.880]undergraduate, graduate and professional students who come to us from 91 of the
[00:08:53.100]93 counties of the state of Nebraska, all 50 US states and 127 countries around
[00:09:00.180]the world. We exist to give them a well rounded higher education and send them
[00:09:05.970]off into the world with strong nimble minds that are ready to do big things.
[00:09:13.200]Our number one metric of success is degree completion. And we are achieving that
[00:09:18.780]success and rights never before seen in our university's history. With record
[00:09:23.670]graduation totals in three of the last four years. A total of 23,337 graduates
[00:09:31.770]with another record set just in May of this year. Our students are graduating
[00:09:37.470]faster as well. We've seen our four year grad rate go up every year for seven
[00:09:42.630]consecutive straight years. And when our entering classes, it increased 10
[00:09:48.540]percentage points in that time period. And they're earning a coveted Big Ten
[00:09:54.330]degree where the Big Ten is the only power five Athletic Conference that also
[00:09:59.880]hasan incredibly cooperative academic alliance. Our membership in the Big Ten
[00:10:05.550]isn't just about who we play in athletic competitions, or the increasingly
[00:10:09.930]healthy major revenues generated by media contracts. Our membership powers
[00:10:15.390]exceptional educational opportunities here at UNL.
[00:10:20.400]The Big Ten Academic Alliance allow students from member and partner
[00:10:23.970]institutions the opportunity to gain access to more than 120 million library
[00:10:29.430]volumes, and more than 100 Less talk less commonly taught languages through the
[00:10:35.190]partnership. member schools also work together to purchase resources and
[00:10:40.350]materials collectively together, which leads to millions of dollars in annual
[00:10:44.850]savings, and underrepresented students interested in pursuing graduate education
[00:10:50.640]can get help through intensive research experiences with faculty mentors and
[00:10:55.410]enrichment activities in the Alliance's summer research opportunities program.
[00:11:01.710]While we're graduating students and record numbers with high quality and high
[00:11:06.480]opportunity degrees, as a leading and committed land grant university, we are
[00:11:12.000]focused on ensuring students have affordable access to this incredible
[00:11:17.160]education.
[00:11:19.170]We have the lowest tuition rates in the big 10. Our in state tuition rate is
[00:11:24.960]over 10% lower and our non resident tuition rate is over 15% lower than any of
[00:11:31.530]our big 10 institutional peers.
[00:11:34.890]More than 2800 of our students are aided by Nebraska promise. And I want to
[00:11:39.810]thank President Carter for recently emboldening this initiative to provide
[00:11:44.670]tuition free access to students from families making less than $65,000 per
[00:11:50.520]annum, or who qualify for the Federal Pell Grant.
[00:11:55.980]UNL graduates have markedly less debt than the national average, our May 2022
[00:12:02.460]graduates who graduated with some level of debt averaged 19,071 in federal
[00:12:08.820]student debt 33% below the national average of $29,000. We offer incredible and
[00:12:18.090]increasing scholarship opportunities at UNL with more than 14,000 of our
[00:12:22.410]students on a need or merit based scholarship. And many of these scholarships
[00:12:27.870]are made possible by the tremendous private philanthropy of our alumni, friends
[00:12:32.280]and supporters, with many terrific opportunities added in this past year, like
[00:12:38.580]the keyword scholars, a full cost of attendance scholarship, combined with a
[00:12:43.170]rigorous leadership experience for up to 160 Nebraska engineering students
[00:12:48.780]launched in 2021, with generous support from the Peter keyword Foundation, and
[00:12:54.180]the keyword Corporation executive team.
[00:12:57.600]A generous gift from the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation created the
[00:13:01.470]teacher Scholars Academy a few years ago, that's now enabling 75 aspiring
[00:13:06.450]teachers on full scholarship to become teaching Innovators for the 21st century.
[00:13:13.170]And an additional $5 million gift from the Johnny Carson foundation is providing
[00:13:17.700]tuition assistance to even more students in our Hickson Lee College of Fine and
[00:13:22.590]Performing Arts
[00:13:24.990]at UNL. Our students gain real world experiences they wouldn't get at many other
[00:13:31.110]universities. And while we certainly expect to see our enrollment increase in
[00:13:36.990]the immediate years ahead, in general, our size fits our unique strengths. We're
[00:13:43.860]big enough to offer a big 10 education, and small enough that our students have
[00:13:49.140]one to one experiences. They get to know their professors here, they're
[00:13:53.160]surrounded by a community of support. I often say and believe that UNL is a big
[00:14:00.120]small place.
[00:14:02.580]And here, we believe in the power of every person. Our undergraduate students
[00:14:07.470]have the value added experience to support graduate students and faculty in
[00:14:12.120]research and creative activity. This is an incredible opportunity for our
[00:14:17.490]students and truly sets us apart from other universities.
[00:14:23.100]These are just a few behind me on the screen of the tremendous educational and
[00:14:27.750]research opportunities that are provided for our students across our non
[00:14:31.890]academic colleges.
[00:14:35.160]And we are constantly innovating to bring new opportunities for academic success
[00:14:40.110]for our students. During the height of the pandemic. We added winter room
[00:14:45.300]sessions between the fall and spring semesters. And it was such a success that
[00:14:49.770]we've made the winter of opportunity available for the next three years with
[00:14:54.030]appropriate adjustments to our academic calendar and given students a chance to
[00:14:59.280]pick up a day
[00:15:00.000]national credit hours in innovative online offerings, and have grown that
[00:15:05.790]program for the upcoming January 2023 Winterim session to 70 courses this coming
[00:15:12.780]term. We've added new degree programs such as software engineering and the new
[00:15:17.790]School of Computing and Nebraska engineering to keep pace with fast changing
[00:15:22.650]career opportunities. And this year, we're implementing a new interdisciplinary
[00:15:27.660]Data Science major among the computing, mathematics and statistics disciplines
[00:15:32.730]and faculty.
[00:15:34.860]And perhaps even more important in today's incredibly fast changing world, we
[00:15:40.650]are preparing students not just for the jobs of today, but for tomorrow for many
[00:15:47.370]of our graduates the jobs they'll hold during their careers. We've heard this
[00:15:51.630]statistic many times have not even been invented yet.
[00:15:56.520]at UNL, we provide an education that grows strong, nimble and flexible minds so
[00:16:02.250]that our students walk out of these doors prepared for a lifetime of doing big
[00:16:07.890]things.
[00:16:09.960]Now, as some currently questioned the value of a university degree, and whether
[00:16:15.000]it is worth it, I say absolutely, unequivocally, yes.
[00:16:20.940]It is college for everyone. Not necessarily.
[00:16:25.380]Can someone without a university degree have a successful career? Absolutely.
[00:16:30.990]But there are inescapable tangible benefits for a four year or advanced degree.
[00:16:37.140]In 2020, the median earnings of those with a bachelor's degree were 63%, higher
[00:16:43.530]than the earnings of those who completed high school.
[00:16:47.280]College graduates contributed an average of 26% more to a retirement savings
[00:16:52.050]fund, even when those graduates had similar incomes, and access to savings
[00:16:57.420]plans. Those with college degrees have a better chance at homeownership and a
[00:17:02.670]significantly lower rate of unemployment. And they have greater earnings and
[00:17:07.680]advancement opportunities over the course of their careers, with the rise in
[00:17:12.450]income by mid career being only 25% For those with high school diplomas, while
[00:17:18.270]bachelor's degree or higher holders in the workforce grow their incomes by 50%.
[00:17:23.460]By that same point in their career.
[00:17:27.320]To quote the amazing 96 years young Dr. Gwendolyn A. Newkirk, longtime national
[00:17:34.760]leader in the field of Family and Consumer Sciences, at the wonderful dedication
[00:17:39.050]that we celebrated last week of the Gwendolyn a new curcumin Sciences Building
[00:17:43.730]on our East Campus. Investment in a college education yields dividends for a
[00:17:51.110]lifetime.
[00:17:53.570]When Jane and I welcomed this year's freshman class at Memorial Stadium, I made
[00:17:58.160]them a promise. I told them, you will be prepared through the grip will become
[00:18:04.820]stronger, bigger talents for you, you will become more nimble, flexible and
[00:18:09.890]adaptable to any challenge and better prepared throughout your life to step up
[00:18:14.750]in any situation. In a fast paced, ever changing world, you will leave UNL with
[00:18:21.800]the tools needed to succeed.
[00:18:24.800]And judging from my personal interactions with the class of 2026. Thus far, it
[00:18:29.690]is without a doubt the most capable and engaged of the seven classes. I've had
[00:18:35.120]the privilege to welcome to UNL as their Chancellor.
[00:18:41.300]A key component to students success is inviting and exhilarating learning and
[00:18:45.920]discovery spaces. And any conversation on big things has to start with the very
[00:18:51.830]visible manifestation of the growth of our facilities infrastructure.
[00:18:56.810]Any look across our campuses will tell you new growth is happening all around us
[00:19:04.100]since 2019, and at the present time, we are investing more than $1 billion in
[00:19:10.100]expanding and improving our facilities. You've seen the cranes and construction
[00:19:15.380]for these projects. But these are ones that are recently completed or are
[00:19:19.910]underway. Just tomorrow, we will celebrate the ribbon cutting of Carolyn Pope
[00:19:25.370]Edwards Hall as the new home for early childhood programs in the College of
[00:19:29.630]Education and Human Sciences. The Engineering Research Center is now complete
[00:19:34.310]and occupied and the renovations to the Scott Engineering Center are on track
[00:19:38.570]for completion this coming year. Kiewit Hall that I now see coming up 17th
[00:19:43.970]Street every morning. It will be the single largest academic project in the
[00:19:49.310]University of Nebraska's history $115 million privately funded new instructional
[00:19:55.280]home for Nebraska engineering on track for the completion you end up next
[00:20:00.050]year. The architecture college just recently occupied three new floors of the
[00:20:06.830]former library as world class design studio space that is now working for our
[00:20:12.740]students and faculty. Louise lb Hall renovations that have created a new space
[00:20:18.470]for Global Engagement, classroom renovations and relocation of several units
[00:20:24.410]from the College of Arts and Sciences to go big athletics training and Student
[00:20:29.120]Success facility now on track for completion in June of this coming year, being
[00:20:34.430]constructed as the future of Husker athletics $165 million facility 115 million
[00:20:41.000]of that privately raised the veterans tribute or memorial mall that we dedicated
[00:20:46.910]on 911 Just a couple of weeks ago as a standing tribute to all past, present and
[00:20:52.250]future veterans from Nebraska. The Scarlet hotel is now open on Nebraska
[00:20:58.010]Innovation Campus and is the home for our HRTM program. Moving forward. The
[00:21:03.890]Barcley Center on East Campus just completed addition and renovation to that
[00:21:08.720]space for our special education and communication disorders program. Nebraska
[00:21:14.210]Law cut the ribbon on the new newly renovated Schmid Law Library. Just a couple
[00:21:19.610]of weeks ago a new $6 million privately funded renovation for world class
[00:21:24.320]research and scholarship space. Hamilton Hall Department of Chemistry now
[00:21:29.810]completed with the renovations to the labs through the third floor of that
[00:21:35.060]building that we're very pleased about the cupola on love library that iconic
[00:21:40.580]structure that is such a symbol for our institution replace this summer in its
[00:21:46.190]construction. The eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center feedlot
[00:21:50.750]Innovation Center is now underway a seven and a half million dollar addition for
[00:21:55.160]world class research research space for our world class ruminant nutrition
[00:22:00.080]program. And this very facility the Lied Center for the Performing Arts,
[00:22:04.640]scheduled for an AI renovation and addition for a new entrance and box office as
[00:22:10.910]well as new performance and teaching space in the coming time ahead.
[00:22:17.480]And last year, the passage of LB384 by the Nebraska Legislature also provided
[00:22:23.420]funding, equally partnered with the University to reinvigorate our campuses by
[00:22:29.030]addressing long term deferred maintenance through 2062.
[00:22:34.160]And thank goodness the first 400 billion of bonds were let in that project
[00:22:38.840]before we had these changes recently in the market. And that is enabling on our
[00:22:44.600]campus in the immediate time ahead. A new Westbrook Music Building to begin
[00:22:49.700]construction next year for our Glenn Korff School of Music, and major
[00:22:54.950]renovations to military and naval science. Kimball Recital Hall, Morill, Bessey
[00:23:01.310]and Niehardt Halls, as well as the College of Architecture's link of their
[00:23:05.930]facility all of those that happen in 2023, and 2024.
[00:23:12.710]These projects are absolute game changers for our students, our research and our
[00:23:18.470]extension programs resulting in impressive state of the art new places to learn,
[00:23:24.440]to engage and to build community.
[00:23:27.830]They will continue to transform our research scholarship and creative activity,
[00:23:32.780]they will without a doubt, increase our impact on Nebraska, and they will
[00:23:37.460]continue to ensure that UNL is a place where every person and every interaction
[00:23:43.850]matters.
[00:23:46.610]No university can call itself a flagship land grant comprehensive research
[00:23:51.170]intensive institution without world leading impactful research and discovery.
[00:23:58.580]UNL is the only Carnegie or one research university in Nebraska.
[00:24:04.280]Our research has been making an impact for our for our state and beyond Since
[00:24:09.950]our founding in 1869. And we've had some very big successes this past year,
[00:24:16.880]including a record high $321 million in total research expenditures. With one of
[00:24:24.320]our largest research grants ever awarded from the National Science Foundation,
[00:24:28.940]Nebraska faculty are taking over leadership from Princeton University and now
[00:24:33.860]coordinate 1200 us physicists at the Large Hadron Hadron Collider, the world's
[00:24:40.100]largest most powerful particle accelerator in Switzerland.
[00:24:45.290]UNL is a major part of a recent $25 million federal award that will push the
[00:24:50.120]boundaries of robotics innovation with the establishment of a Heartland robotics
[00:24:54.890]cluster largely centered in Nebraska engineering and
[00:25:00.020]Nebraska Innovation Campus. A $20 million award from the National Science
[00:25:05.030]Foundation's EPSCoR program is helping a Nebraska team to create a research and
[00:25:10.250]education cluster aimed at enhancing the state's competitiveness in the field of
[00:25:14.900]emergent quantum materials and technologies. Our faculty are earning significant
[00:25:21.080]funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, supporting deeper
[00:25:25.010]examinations of the works of Willa Cather the creation of the American West, the
[00:25:30.710]expansion of multi institutional open access, publishing, and pedagogical tools
[00:25:36.050]and digitization of historical Nebraska newspapers.
[00:25:41.120]An international team led by Kwame and Laura dolls, received an Andrew W. Mellon
[00:25:45.680]Foundation three quarter of a million dollar grant to expand an online portal
[00:25:50.690]for African poetry.
[00:25:53.410]Faculty are also producing creative works, garnering the world's attention.
[00:25:58.150]Timothy champers the perfume thief was one of two titles selected by Penguin
[00:26:02.680]Random House International for the One World One Book program. The Bell Affair
[00:26:08.980]the highly acclaimed new animated film from Husker scholars, professors Dreher,
[00:26:13.330]Thomas and Burton had its world premiere in front of a sold out audience near
[00:26:18.370]Washington DC actually near the home of the story, where I was privileged to be
[00:26:24.100]able to attend the summer.
[00:26:27.190]Our global leadership and stature in agriculture, natural resources and food
[00:26:31.030]production continues to grow and escalate. Nebraska faculty are co developing a
[00:26:36.550]global yield gap Atlas platform for major crops in 70 countries around the
[00:26:42.010]world.
[00:26:43.720]In another project, we're leading the development of a network of networks that
[00:26:47.830]unite some of North America's most forward thinking interdisciplinary
[00:26:52.150]collaborations focused on agricultural and climate resilience, and food and
[00:26:57.400]water security.
[00:26:59.830]Our new Biosecurity lab with the National Strategic Research Institute is
[00:27:04.360]helping to safeguard our nation's food supply. And the National Drought
[00:27:08.230]Mitigation Center, housed in IANR School of Natural Resources recently kicked
[00:27:13.780]off a $1 million defense project to to predict unrest around the world, with its
[00:27:20.290]leaders regularly called on and sought out by media around the world as drought
[00:27:25.810]experts all all too. Unfortunately, this past year, with the extent of the
[00:27:30.820]drought.
[00:27:32.950]Nebraska engineers continue to lead the way in research that is on track to cut
[00:27:37.780]5% of the world's digital energy budget to cut internet congestion, to create
[00:27:42.940]the next generation of roadside safety barriers to extend the life of bridges to
[00:27:48.220]support nsri efforts and strategic deterrence and even to send surgical robots
[00:27:54.580]into space.
[00:27:57.010]We are very pleased the plans are moving forward for the development of a
[00:28:01.270]proposed $140 million. USDA is Ag Research Service, regenerative and resilient
[00:28:08.620]precision agriculture national layout at Nebraska Innovation Campus with the
[00:28:14.650]initial planning for the Phase One of that complex consisting of greenhouses now
[00:28:19.810]underway. And I'm very grateful for $25 million in support from the Nebraska
[00:28:25.450]Legislature this past year to be matched with $25 million in private support for
[00:28:31.450]the development of a companion technology transfer facility housing scientists
[00:28:35.920]there from both USDA and IANR, creating new discoveries and technologies to
[00:28:42.550]improve American agriculture.
[00:28:46.090]We anticipate the timeline for this to extend to not to 2027. And it will be a
[00:28:52.480]major game changer for Nebraska, our nation and Nebraska Innovation Campus.
[00:29:00.130]And not only is our research and discovery continuing to grow in scale and
[00:29:04.630]impact. We also we're seeing continued advancement in the translation of that
[00:29:10.210]research into economic development.
[00:29:13.390]For the fifth year in a row, the University of Nebraska was named in the top 100
[00:29:18.730]institutions in the world in the granting of US patents increasing from 77 in
[00:29:25.150]that ranking last year to 64th. This year, led by 25 patents from UNL
[00:29:31.690]researchers.
[00:29:35.200]We are in Nebraska's land grant university committed to engagement with our
[00:29:40.210]state UNL indeed touches every corner of Nebraska.
[00:29:46.510]UNL engages in person with Nebraskans in all 93 counties through our nationally
[00:29:51.340]recognized Nebraska Extension.
[00:29:55.000]For example, through a variety of programs we're helping rural communities like
[00:29:59.410]Lynch indoor
[00:29:59.980]northeast Nebraska form cooperatives to replace grocery stores, and helping
[00:30:05.200]places like Tilden and Plainview and others enhance entrepreneurship and
[00:30:09.820]business development.
[00:30:12.220]Our College of Architecture partners with the Nebraska development districts and
[00:30:15.790]local leaders in multiple towns annually, like David's city on community
[00:30:21.160]revitalization efforts. In 2021, more than 400 elected and appointed county
[00:30:27.700]officials received valuable leadership training through the Nebraska association
[00:30:31.960]of county officials Institute of excellence.
[00:30:36.070]Nearly 118,000 child care providers caring for 160,000 children received
[00:30:42.880]interactive and meaningful professional development. And more than 350
[00:30:48.310]Nebraskans completed a food safety course through Nebraska Extension in response
[00:30:53.590]to a new cottage food safety law.
[00:30:57.370]Our graduates make an impact on our state as well. We prepare the majority of
[00:31:03.580]Nebraska's teachers and pre medical professionals, most of its lawyers, and
[00:31:09.310]among Nebraska state senators. UNL is by far the most represented all mod alma
[00:31:14.620]mater across the 49 elected senators. A degree from UNL is also most common
[00:31:21.310]amongst the CEOs of the 50 largest employers in Nebraska, and three of
[00:31:26.050]Nebraska's five congressional representatives hold degrees from our institution.
[00:31:32.680]Our graduates stay in Nebraska, to build their careers and become part of the
[00:31:37.270]fabric of our state. We survey our graduates every year. And those who responded
[00:31:43.090]this past year 81% of our graduates who are from Nebraska, started their careers
[00:31:49.270]here upon graduation. And 74% of our students who came here from outside
[00:31:54.970]Nebraska, about a third of our student body stayed in Nebraska to start their
[00:32:00.070]careers as well.
[00:32:03.340]For us, land grant isn't simply a title or designation. It's a mission. It's a
[00:32:10.180]way of life.
[00:32:12.310]Our economic impact is tremendous. In the most recent economic impact study, for
[00:32:17.260]every state appropriated dollar invested in UNL $11 is returned directly to the
[00:32:24.220]economy of the state of Nebraska.
[00:32:27.910]The people of Nebraska think of us as their university, we have been for 153
[00:32:34.120]years, and we always will be.
[00:32:39.000]Perhaps the biggest and boldest endeavor on our campus right now is our in 2025
[00:32:43.560]strategic plan. We're halfway through the five year time horizon of in 2025,
[00:32:50.940]which you'll remember was designed to be innovative, transformative and to set
[00:32:55.260]us apart based on our unique strengths. We've made very good progress in many
[00:33:01.050]areas. But in a few we need to step up the pace to meet our goals.
[00:33:07.350]Last spring, during one of the peaks of COVID-19, I participated in discussions
[00:33:12.090]with our Dean's and our Vice Chancellors on our progress toward our end 2025
[00:33:16.920]goals. The conversations revealed so many great things that were happening
[00:33:22.020]across our campuses like you heard in the video. Before we started today, I
[00:33:27.420]would encourage you to view the videos on our in 2025 website to hear about some
[00:33:32.850]of those very exciting specifics.
[00:33:36.330]Any one of the plan calls on us to innovate student experiences that prepare
[00:33:40.650]graduates to be lifelong learners, and contributors to the workforce in Nebraska
[00:33:45.690]and the world.
[00:33:47.560]One of the boldest targets under this same is that all students in the class of
[00:33:52.300]2025 will graduate with an experiential learning opportunity through a paid
[00:33:57.910]internship, apprenticeship, undergraduate research or community and
[00:34:02.380]international engagement. We are working on the mechanisms to transcript
[00:34:07.600]designate this across all nine of our academic colleges. And there are so many
[00:34:12.130]rich examples of what our students are doing in this area. Like Alisa Holst, the
[00:34:17.680]food science major who interned in North Carolina at Campbell Snacks, where our
[00:34:23.050]students from the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film 13 of them who spent
[00:34:27.880]the summer in London at the Globe Theatre, honing their acting skills, or Luke
[00:34:32.680]Woolsey, a pre med biology and psychology double major who channeled the
[00:34:36.760]experience of watching his little brother overcome childhood cancer, to being a
[00:34:42.100]retreat leader for Lighthouse Family Retreat in the UNL dance marathon to raise
[00:34:47.050]funds to help beat childhood cancer. Or Clare Umotoni, a native of Rwanda, who
[00:34:53.500]spent her summer in ord Nebraska is a Nebraska Rural Prosperity fellow, helping
[00:34:58.120]with efforts to revitalize their
[00:35:00.000]downtown, and the College of Journalism and Mass Communications has developed an
[00:35:05.250]entire experience lab dedicated to allow their students to do from day one. I
[00:35:12.360]could literally go on and on. Our students are just learning, they are doing
[00:35:19.140]amazing things experientially.
[00:35:22.950]And another bright spot in our aim one is our steady progress, as I mentioned
[00:35:26.580]earlier on our four year graduation rate, which as I said, has steadily
[00:35:31.410]increased each of the last seven years and is now at 50.3%. For the freshman
[00:35:37.170]class who entered in the fall of 2018.
[00:35:40.950]We still have work to do to hit our target goal of 55% in this metric, but I'm
[00:35:46.860]proud that we are on track and the progress that we are making.
[00:35:52.350]Now as you know, our total enrollment declined again this year to 23,805
[00:35:59.460]students. And while the disruptions of the pandemic, coupled with declining
[00:36:05.220]international new students, and record graduating classes had been major
[00:36:09.870]factors, we must be relentless in our work to recruit bright young minds to UNL
[00:36:17.010]from across Nebraska, the US and the world. In that respect, enrollment and
[00:36:23.610]recruitment is a priority in all of our jobs in the current time and years
[00:36:28.290]ahead.
[00:36:30.150]I look forward to seeing the trend of the last three years reversed, with
[00:36:34.440]increased enrollment to above the 25,000 student baseline in the future.
[00:36:41.460]We also have worked to do to be reducing our equity gap, and to make sure that
[00:36:47.160]all of our students, regardless of their background, are equally successful in
[00:36:51.720]reaching that graduation milestone.
[00:36:54.840]While we've certainly seen progress in this metric in our plan, there is still
[00:36:59.400]yet much more to do.
[00:37:02.790]Both aims two and three focus on increasing the impact of our research and to
[00:37:06.480]foster innovative interdisciplinary endeavors and solve challenges that are
[00:37:11.580]critical to Nebraska and the world. As I mentioned earlier, we again hit a
[00:37:17.460]record of $320 million in total research expenditures this past year, and
[00:37:22.800]continuing that year on year growth is incredible. Considering the very stiff
[00:37:28.620]headwinds, the pandemic posed for research activity where very few r1 research
[00:37:34.950]institutions didn't see a decrease in total research expenditures. Again, we
[00:37:42.030]need to grow more quickly to hit the target of $450 million in research
[00:37:46.470]expenditures. But I appreciate the dedicated focus of maintaining our momentum
[00:37:52.140]over what had been a couple of very turbulent years.
[00:37:56.670]Last year, we also hit our goal of at least 5% growth and graduate degree
[00:38:01.380]attainment with a 10 and a half percent growth in our Master's Degree
[00:38:05.340]completion, and a 6.1% growth and doctoral and professional degree granting. I
[00:38:12.810]look forward to us continuing to exceed our goals in this area. In the time I
[00:38:17.910]hear.
[00:38:19.710]The conversations with our Dean's and campus leaders this spring highlighted a
[00:38:23.730]number of ways that faculty from different academic colleges are working
[00:38:28.110]together on exciting and transformative research endeavors. In August, just
[00:38:33.960]recently, we announced the first of our four annual rounds of $10 million in
[00:38:38.940]funding for the grand challenges research proposals, which included three lead
[00:38:43.800]catalyst awards, and 10 planning grant awards. The Catalyst Award recipients
[00:38:50.130]were Katie Edwards, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, who is
[00:38:54.300]leading a team of researchers and partners to create a center for preventing
[00:38:58.740]sexual violence among indigenous youth. Tomas Hala Carr, associate professor of
[00:39:04.890]biochemistry who will create a digital twin of the human immune system with his
[00:39:09.930]team, ultimately hoping that clinical trials can make use of the digital twin
[00:39:14.910]technology as do other industries with complex data. Kees Uiterwall, Associate
[00:39:21.480]Professor of Physics and Astronomy, who will lead a team to help people
[00:39:25.140]understand quantum sciences through the immersive use of augmented reality.
[00:39:32.310]And in four focuses squarely on our mission as a land grant university to
[00:39:36.060]broaden Nebraska's engagement in community industry and global partnerships.
[00:39:42.600]Under the great leadership of Kathleen Lodl, Associate Dean of Nebraska
[00:39:45.960]Extension, we are well on our way to the primary target of this same to be
[00:39:50.880]designated as a Carnegie community engagement campus. We'll be applying for this
[00:39:56.670]in the 2024 round. And Kathleen has done a
[00:39:59.940]really great job in measuring and pulling together data necessary to ensure
[00:40:04.800]success.
[00:40:07.200]Under rain five, we hope to create a climate at Nebraska that emphasizes
[00:40:11.910]prioritizes and expands inclusive excellence and diversity.
[00:40:17.310]I am proud that we have the most diverse student body this year in our history,
[00:40:22.860]and that we are in year 10 of continuous improvement in this regard.
[00:40:28.260]Again, we need to do more to hit our goals specifically with underrepresented
[00:40:33.810]students and faculty of color.
[00:40:37.560]This is not a name that can be achieved top down. And so we have taken an
[00:40:42.540]integrated approach where every academic college and unit has its own plan to
[00:40:48.180]address progress in diversity and inclusion.
[00:40:51.810]Addressing the same begins with data and assessment. The new system as you know,
[00:40:57.180]completed a Gallup climate survey last fall, which provided some insights for us
[00:41:01.980]and baseline data. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is further exploring
[00:41:06.810]what we can learn from the survey data.
[00:41:10.830]We also have completed our self assessment as part of the APLU's Aspire ichange
[00:41:15.780]cohort, which aspires to build diversity in our STEM priorities and programs.
[00:41:21.660]And we're now building out an action plan in that area.
[00:41:26.160]Our offices of Student Affairs diversity, equity and inclusion and Institutional
[00:41:30.210]Equity and compliance have developed clear guidance so that any student faculty
[00:41:35.670]or staff member who experiences a climate issue knows where to go for support
[00:41:41.130]and response. We have a diversity recruitment guide and search Ambassadors
[00:41:45.930]Program to aid search committees in the development of diverse candidate pools
[00:41:50.370]for the hiring of faculty and staff. And we now have a template and training
[00:41:54.690]module for incorporating inclusive excellence in staff evaluations.
[00:42:00.960]Now, while we certainly have experienced recent external challenges in our aim
[00:42:05.970]to make inclusive excellence a priority, I'm inspired by the commitment to and
[00:42:11.580]achievement of progress. If we are truly a place where every person in every
[00:42:17.430]interaction matters, then we must be diligent in our pursuit of AIM five.
[00:42:24.570]Our focus in ame six is on our UNL community and prioritizing participation in
[00:42:29.370]professional development for all Nebraska students, faculty and staff. Again, in
[00:42:34.830]this area, the new system Gallup survey is providing very good baseline data for
[00:42:39.990]us.
[00:42:41.640]We are well on our way. And I'm very happy about this to developing a staff
[00:42:45.810]senate for the first time in our history, to provide a mechanism for staff to
[00:42:50.310]advise the campus and the leadership and to share feedback and recommendations.
[00:42:55.320]Nominations for the inaugural senators, as you saw earlier this week, are now
[00:42:59.790]underway. For the launch of the staff senate officially in January of 2023.
[00:43:06.870]Last spring, I asked executive Executive Vice Chancellor Kathy Ankerson, to lead
[00:43:12.480]a broad based task force to look at the future of work primarily for staff.
[00:43:18.360]We know that the pandemic led to major changes in how and where our work is
[00:43:23.280]delivered and productivity measure across the nation, as well as locally here in
[00:43:29.940]Lincoln, Nebraska. The task force has completed their work and provided me with
[00:43:35.010]a series of recommendations that we're considering now. And we'll be
[00:43:39.180]implementing a number of those as we move forward for our campus.
[00:43:45.030]And as part of our in 2025, we placed additional emphasis on ensuring the
[00:43:50.010]responsible stewardship of resources
[00:43:53.580]efficiently and effectively using our resources is key to continuing to keep our
[00:43:58.830]tuition low, and our access affordable.
[00:44:03.390]key to doing this is implementation of our incentives and our budgeting process
[00:44:07.980]to reward and encourage growth and innovation. We have developed a budget model
[00:44:13.590]as you know, over the last several years, that layers in an incentive based
[00:44:17.910]allocation following the distribution of state resources. I've met recently with
[00:44:23.280]our Dean's and campus leaders and look forward to working with them and this
[00:44:27.360]implementation year of the incentive base model.
[00:44:33.030]And we continue to do great work to implement our environmental environment
[00:44:37.830]meant sustainability and resilience master plan. And I'm very pleased that we
[00:44:43.770]will soon roll out a campus wide enhanced recycling program that's following a
[00:44:48.690]very successful pilot.
[00:44:52.140]When we announced the end 2025 strategic plan in February of 2020
[00:44:58.530]we knew we were being bold
[00:45:00.000]In all doses,
[00:45:02.370]we should keep in mind. One month after we announced our in 2025 plan, a global
[00:45:09.480]pandemic forced us to go fully remote.
[00:45:13.320]I don't need to go into a litany of ways the pandemic changed our world, and our
[00:45:18.210]community, we have all lived it.
[00:45:21.450]The pandemic had a demonstrable impact on our ability to achieve a few of our n
[00:45:26.250]2025 targets. And realistically, we may need to revisit what is achievable on a
[00:45:32.160]few maybe even from a stretch perspective.
[00:45:36.030]In the coming months, we will provide the campus with a status update on each
[00:45:41.280]target, including whether adjustments are recommended in target levels, as well
[00:45:46.380]as the full timeline for realization of them.
[00:45:51.600]UNL is blessed to have one of the most premier athletic programs in the nation.
[00:45:58.650]We are one of the very few universities, where the athletics budget is not only
[00:46:03.210]completely self supported, but provides funding back to the core academic
[00:46:07.500]mission of the institution.
[00:46:10.290]About 2000 of our UNL students, students who are not student athletes received
[00:46:16.620]academic scholarships last year because of the financial success of Husker
[00:46:21.390]athletics.
[00:46:23.520]Continuing the Huskers long tradition of being a national leader in the
[00:46:26.610]classroom. Nebraska student athletes this past year scored a 95% NCAA graduation
[00:46:33.720]success rate, the highest in our institutions history, and amongst the highest
[00:46:39.120]in a five public institutions. And once again, we lead the nation by a mile in
[00:46:45.600]the record number of 348 coastside Academic All Americans
[00:46:51.510]Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Trev Alberts and his team are doing a
[00:46:55.770]tremendous job leading the department through historic changes in the landscape
[00:47:00.720]of intercollegiate athletics, with name image and likeness, direct student
[00:47:05.760]educationally related benefits, big 10 expansion, and significantly expanded new
[00:47:11.820]media rights contracts. Trev and his leadership team are doing an excellent job
[00:47:16.980]of just not managing that massive amount of change, but keeping Nebraska ahead
[00:47:22.140]of the curve and in the leading edge of intercollegiate athletics. And I am
[00:47:27.510]fully confident that in the time ahead, Nebraska Athletics will be positioned
[00:47:32.130]well for the future with administrative and coaching leadership across the
[00:47:36.210]board.
[00:47:38.130]We've seen big news from the big 10 in recent months. In 2024, we will be a
[00:47:44.280]conference that spans geographically coast to coast
[00:47:48.810]with the trends in intercollegiate athletics, and I should say and tell you with
[00:47:53.010]many more to come. We are incredibly well situated as a full solid member of the
[00:47:58.770]big 10 conference, a conference that is growing, and the national leader in
[00:48:03.750]financial strength, and the value of the student athlete experience. I wake up
[00:48:09.360]every day, and I'm incredibly thankful that we are blessed to be a full vibrant
[00:48:14.700]member of the big 10.
[00:48:18.030]Lastly, this has been a challenging time for Husker football
[00:48:23.160]for our alumni, our players and Letterman, for our UNL community and for all of
[00:48:30.420]Husker nation.
[00:48:32.490]While continued transition in leadership is challenging and certainly
[00:48:36.630]frustrating. It is even more so when we all desire so deeply for former coach
[00:48:42.750]Scott frost and his coaching team to experience success. I appreciate Scott's
[00:48:48.330]dedication and commitment to his alma mater, under what is incredible pressure
[00:48:53.640]in that role, and wish Scott and all of the frawls family the very best in the
[00:48:58.620]future.
[00:49:01.680]So many of the big things we do are made possible through the private
[00:49:07.170]philanthropy of alumni for instance, supporters of our institution.
[00:49:12.180]Over the last five years, we have raised largely through the University of
[00:49:17.580]Nebraska Foundation, a record $755 million in private support. And it is making
[00:49:25.950]an incredible impact as you have heard this morning, on our institution in a
[00:49:30.240]myriad of ways.
[00:49:32.730]We are incredibly fortunate to have such tremendous generosity from an
[00:49:36.300]increasing number of friends and supporters. And I cannot begin on behalf of the
[00:49:40.740]institution to adequately express our gratitude to them.
[00:49:45.810]We'll be talking more about the increasingly important impact of private
[00:49:49.530]philanthropy with exciting announcements ahead in what promises to be a
[00:49:54.030]monumental 2023 year in our fundraising efforts.
[00:50:01.110]In closing, you never thought I was gonna get here, did you?
[00:50:06.720]I want to answer one of the most frequent questions that I see and it's posed to
[00:50:11.730]me around campus.
[00:50:14.880]What's going to happen to the kissing columns
[00:50:20.340]made of granite cut from a quarry in Colorado. The columns originally stood at
[00:50:25.740]the front of Omaha, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway station to University
[00:50:31.140]of Nebraska administrators, George Seymour, a former region with an interest in
[00:50:35.670]campus planning, and Irwin forbore, then director of the Nebraska State Museum
[00:50:41.190]worked with the Burlington railroad to have the 18,000 pound 22 foot caught tall
[00:50:46.110]columns shipped to campus. And in 1935, just 12 years after Memorial Stadium was
[00:50:54.030]completed. They were placed in the colonnade in the northeast corner of Memorial
[00:50:58.650]Stadium, and served as the backdrop for countless game days university events,
[00:51:03.840]graduation pictures, impromptu photo shoots, and even marriage proposals.
[00:51:09.540]Affectionately becoming known over time as the kissing columns. They stood tall
[00:51:15.360]there, until last year in 2021. They were safely removed to storage when
[00:51:20.580]construction began. On the athletics go big facility.
[00:51:25.710]I frequently hear people asking where they go, or talking on social media about
[00:51:30.780]are they coming back? And if they are coming back, where are they going to go?
[00:51:36.120]Today, I'm revealing that those iconic columns will take their place that one of
[00:51:40.410]the most historic spots on our campuses.
[00:51:45.030]University Hall was the first and most prominent building on UNL campus. And as
[00:51:50.460]the campus grew, it was the gateway to the university. It sad as you'll
[00:51:54.630]remember, in the in 150 year, we saw lots of pictures of it. But just north of
[00:51:59.730]what is today, the corner of 11th in our streets. In fact, many of those photos
[00:52:05.940]that capture the early days of University Hall, we're looking from University
[00:52:09.510]Hall down into the growing city of Lincoln at the time. And as we build the new
[00:52:15.120]Westbrook music facility, which you heard us talk about earlier here today will
[00:52:19.590]place the columns at the corner of 11th in our streets, creating a new entrance
[00:52:24.780]to our campus from the southwest, one rich in history, and brimming with new
[00:52:30.300]activity. You can see what that looks like a little bit by the rendering behind
[00:52:35.310]me. So question answered now about the kissing columns.
[00:52:41.280]I started off today talking about our people. You are the ones who do big things
[00:52:47.130]that this institution. I'm glad that today we once again combined the state of
[00:52:52.650]our university discussion with our service awards, and with a picnic to follow
[00:52:57.810]on our street for our community now that we're thankfully emerging from this
[00:53:02.490]pandemic.
[00:53:04.740]Outside of 10 years in government and private industry leadership, I've been a
[00:53:09.030]part of higher education throughout my adult life. Over the course of my career,
[00:53:15.270]I've engaged in numerous international and national committees, panels and
[00:53:19.620]projects with leaders from countless universities, government partners and
[00:53:24.000]private enterprises around the globe. And in these past seven years, I've
[00:53:28.980]intimately viewed the challenges and opportunities facing my fellow big 10.
[00:53:33.600]Chancellor's and presidents were, by the way, at the end of 2022. This December,
[00:53:41.040]when my colleague Mitch Daniels at Purdue retires will be the longest serving
[00:53:47.340]member on that board.
[00:53:50.520]And I must say that this somewhat stark reality is giving me great pause and
[00:53:55.710]stimulating considerable personal reflection, about the persistence of
[00:54:00.090]leadership and today's higher education landscape.
[00:54:04.400]But with all of that said, there is one remaining unequivocal truth stated so
[00:54:11.270]well, in the words of Harry Petka, University of Nebraska class of 1924 when he
[00:54:17.870]wrote: There is no place like Nebraska, dear old Nebraska U, where the girls are
[00:54:28.190]the fairest, the boys are there squarest, of any old place that I knew. There is
[00:54:36.020]no place like Nebraska, where they're all true blue. We all stick together in
[00:54:45.230]all kinds of weather for dear old Nebraska U. Let's do big things together.
[00:54:52.580]Thank you

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State of Our University 2022

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