Red-White Spring Game

Rodney Bennett Author

04/29/2024 Added

2 Plays

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Chancellor Bennett and guest James Volkmer talk about student recruitment efforts and their alignment with the priorities of state leaders.

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[00:00:00.660]Greg Sharpe back with you. It's the spring game today
[00:00:03.060]for the Cornhusker football team,
[00:00:04.380]as they'll wrap up spring practice in 2024.
[00:00:07.050]And as we did every Saturday during the fall,
[00:00:09.240]or Friday night in a couple of games' cases,
[00:00:11.610]a chance to sit down and visit with the chancellor
[00:00:14.100]of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Rodney Bennett.
[00:00:16.230]I have missed you.
[00:00:17.063]It is great to see you.
[00:00:18.030]How have you been? Now, Greg,
[00:00:19.170]you say you miss me.
[00:00:20.190]You have not missed me at all.
[00:00:21.870]I thought I'd been kicked to the curb.
[00:00:24.090]I have not talked to you
[00:00:25.230]and been on the air with you in so long.
[00:00:27.960]I've missed you, and I've missed sharing the great narrative
[00:00:31.080]of UNL with all of your listeners.
[00:00:32.940]So thank you for having me today.
[00:00:35.010]And isn't it great to be back in Memorial Stadium
[00:00:38.250]watching a little bit of Husker football?
[00:00:40.290]Love it. Just love it.
[00:00:41.610]Lot of things happening on campus,
[00:00:43.830]but you are also preparing for the future as well.
[00:00:46.260]I know you are always out there actively recruiting.
[00:00:48.660]We are. Talk a little bit
[00:00:49.493]about that. Well, as you know,
[00:00:50.850]the lifeblood and the lifeline for the university
[00:00:53.910]is the recruitment of students,
[00:00:56.370]and embedded in the recruitment of students
[00:00:58.830]is also the retention of our students.
[00:01:01.830]And so we have been very aggressive over the last year
[00:01:05.760]really meeting with families and students
[00:01:08.520]and high schools across the state of Nebraska
[00:01:11.610]and beyond, carrying what we believe
[00:01:14.250]to be a very positive message about why UNL,
[00:01:18.990]why the University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
[00:01:21.060]why the flagship, why the land grant,
[00:01:23.940]why Nebraska's research, Big 10 University.
[00:01:27.630]And that message has been well-received by all
[00:01:30.382]who we have had an opportunity to get in front of.
[00:01:34.020]We have visited more than 800 high schools,
[00:01:38.100]if you can believe that.
[00:01:39.630]And 370 of those 800 high schools have been right here
[00:01:44.630]in the great state of Nebraska.
[00:01:46.920]We have an amazing enrollment management
[00:01:50.070]admissions recruitment team
[00:01:52.350]that sort of deploys everywhere we need for them to go.
[00:01:56.040]And we're very hopeful that our yield
[00:01:59.340]for incoming first year students this fall will be up.
[00:02:03.450]So it's good news on every front,
[00:02:05.430]but it's one of those for which we cannot afford
[00:02:07.680]to not be aggressive
[00:02:10.020]and not keep pushing the needle on.
[00:02:12.690]We also have a deep appreciation for,
[00:02:14.730]there's a lot of work still yet to be done.
[00:02:17.430]We hear from people that we hadn't heard specifically,
[00:02:20.520]or they have not heard specifically from us
[00:02:23.010]with some of their kids.
[00:02:24.210]And so that's an area that our admissions team
[00:02:27.900]is always focused on.
[00:02:29.190]How do we reach the next generation of Huskers,
[00:02:33.000]and what platforms are they on, in terms of social media?
[00:02:37.080]So if your listeners have idea,
[00:02:38.910]our listeners I guess I should say,
[00:02:40.950]have suggestions or ideas of things that we can do,
[00:02:44.520]we are always open to feedback
[00:02:46.260]and always open to getting in front of anybody
[00:02:50.160]who sees themself attending
[00:02:53.100]the state's land grant flagship, Big 10 institution.
[00:02:58.020]I love it when you bring guests,
[00:02:59.340]and you did bring one today, James Volkmer,
[00:03:01.320]who leads the work in enrollment management.
[00:03:03.930]James, great to have you with us on the program.
[00:03:06.060]I'll have you grab that right there.
[00:03:07.920]And tell us a little bit,
[00:03:08.850]well before, let's tell us about yourself.
[00:03:11.220]Tell our audience about who you are.
[00:03:12.960]Thanks Greg.
[00:03:13.793]Appreciate you having me here today.
[00:03:15.240]Well, I grew up in Nebraska.
[00:03:16.500]I'm a proud two-time alumnus
[00:03:17.970]with an undergraduate finance degree and an MBA.
[00:03:21.030]I took my first role outta college
[00:03:22.590]in North Sioux City, South Dakota
[00:03:24.690]at the Great Gateway 2000.
[00:03:27.090]Later in my career, I had the opportunity
[00:03:28.680]to join Fortune 100 companies like Home Depot and Nike.
[00:03:32.310]After nearly 20 years in corporate finance
[00:03:34.380]across the nation and globe,
[00:03:35.910]the Cornhusker state pulled me back home.
[00:03:38.730]I returned to Nebraska to lead institutional effectiveness
[00:03:41.310]and data analytics here at the university.
[00:03:43.440]And over the last two years, I've been the interim leader
[00:03:46.440]for enrollment management.
[00:03:47.970]James, tell our audience a little bit
[00:03:49.980]about what the landscape
[00:03:51.150]of college-bound undergraduate students
[00:03:53.220]is right now in Nebraska.
[00:03:55.170]Well, the population of college-bound students
[00:03:58.530]in the states where Nebraska predominantly recruits from,
[00:04:02.160]which is Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota,
[00:04:05.670]those populations are relatively flat.
[00:04:08.580]However, our student body does represent all 50 states.
[00:04:12.270]We have over a hundred countries represented,
[00:04:14.190]and within Nebraska, students come from 91 counties.
[00:04:17.760]So at the heart of our mission,
[00:04:18.870]as the flagship land grant institution,
[00:04:21.840]is our unwavering commitment
[00:04:23.280]to serving our Nebraska students and families first.
[00:04:26.760]We believe in access to education for all Nebraskans.
[00:04:30.180]This commitment is reflected
[00:04:31.410]in the Nebraska Promise Program,
[00:04:32.880]which provides full tuition for Nebraska student families
[00:04:35.910]that have an adjusted gross income of less than 65,000.
[00:04:38.820]James, there's been so much national dialogue
[00:04:41.640]pertaining to the importance of getting a college degree.
[00:04:44.550]How does that affect the college-bound population?
[00:04:48.540]That's a good question, Greg.
[00:04:50.220]So at UNL, we're in the business of shaping future leaders
[00:04:53.640]to harness their unique strengths
[00:04:55.350]to making a meaningful impact
[00:04:56.910]in shaping a brighter tomorrow.
[00:04:58.590]So as part of the esteemed Big 10 Academic Alliance,
[00:05:01.140]our students choose from a diverse array
[00:05:03.360]of over a hundred academic programs.
[00:05:05.490]They learn from faculty, renowned for their expertise,
[00:05:08.400]and they engage in experiential learning opportunities
[00:05:11.100]like study abroad, internships, undergraduate research.
[00:05:15.090]There's truly something at UNL for everyone, right?
[00:05:18.120]Our students also join a network of over 200,000 alumni
[00:05:21.750]around the world, and, chances are,
[00:05:23.730]our listeners today probably know someone, right,
[00:05:26.160]who's made an impact in their community or industry
[00:05:28.560]who are alums of UNL.
[00:05:30.330]I know we had a red letter day yesterday.
[00:05:32.130]A lot of young folks on campus taking tours,
[00:05:34.500]trying to make a college decision.
[00:05:36.180]For families that are listening out there, James,
[00:05:38.100]how can they prepare their students for Nebraska education?
[00:05:41.550]Excellent question.
[00:05:42.383]Great timing of the year to be talking about this, Greg.
[00:05:44.850]So preparing your student for a UNL education
[00:05:47.220]is all about engaging them in the college search process
[00:05:49.530]early on in their high school career
[00:05:51.570]and encouraging them to explore their interests,
[00:05:53.850]excel academically, and get involved
[00:05:55.620]in the extracurricular activities
[00:05:57.300]that align with what their passions are, right?
[00:06:00.150]Additionally, they should familiarize themselves
[00:06:02.040]with the admissions requirements, academic programs,
[00:06:04.920]support services, all those things will help ensure
[00:06:08.310]that smooth transition into college.
[00:06:10.860]The best way for students to get a preview
[00:06:13.290]of what they can accomplish here at UNL
[00:06:15.510]is to schedule a campus visit,
[00:06:17.370]explore our academic summer camps,
[00:06:19.680]and join our mailing list at admissions.unl.edu.
[00:06:22.800]Fantastic.
[00:06:23.640]Chancellor, we talk in the sports world all the time
[00:06:25.680]about recruiting.
[00:06:26.850]Well, that goes over to the academic world as well.
[00:06:29.430]And I think it's amazing to hear James and you lay out,
[00:06:32.100]going out and visiting all these high schools.
[00:06:33.810]It's a big part of keeping the university
[00:06:35.850]on to the next stage.
[00:06:36.840]Absolutely.
[00:06:37.770]And you know, Greg, one of the things
[00:06:39.060]that's really important for me,
[00:06:41.460]and when I think about the why for Nebraska families,
[00:06:45.990]we are working really hard to be in alignment
[00:06:48.930]with Governor Pillen in the initiatives
[00:06:51.960]that the governor has for the state of Nebraska.
[00:06:55.050]First and foremost is keeping the best
[00:06:58.230]and the brightest young people in the state of Nebraska
[00:07:01.620]and thinking about how we grow the next generation
[00:07:05.010]of business leaders and entrepreneurs and teachers
[00:07:08.130]and educators and ministers and hospital executives
[00:07:12.780]and the likes, go on and on and on.
[00:07:16.650]The governor has talked extensively
[00:07:18.630]about workforce development.
[00:07:21.240]He has talked extensively
[00:07:22.980]about job readiness of our students on day one.
[00:07:27.060]He's talked extensively about outcomes,
[00:07:30.420]thinking about not only the number of students
[00:07:32.610]that we enroll, but the number of students that we graduate,
[00:07:35.970]and how we prepare those individuals
[00:07:38.550]to sort of take their place in leading the state.
[00:07:41.670]And so if I'm, you know, a resident of the state
[00:07:45.210]of Nebraska, and I've got a college-bound student,
[00:07:48.930]I'd want my kid to go somewhere
[00:07:51.090]where the institution is in alignment
[00:07:53.820]with the initiatives of the governor and of the legislature.
[00:07:57.540]And I'm very proud that over the last almost year now
[00:08:01.170]that I've been chancellor, we've worked hard
[00:08:03.540]to develop and maintain those relationships
[00:08:06.630]with Governor Pillen and with members of the legislature.
[00:08:10.410]Fantastic.
[00:08:11.400]Don't hide from me anymore.
[00:08:13.002](Rodney laughs) I miss you.
[00:08:14.520]James, good to see you as well.
[00:08:16.006]Thank you Greg.
[00:08:16.926]Good to see you, Chance. Greg, thanks for having us.
[00:08:18.150]You bet.
[00:08:18.983]Chancellor Rodney Bennett with us here on our pregame.
[00:08:20.760]When we come back, I'll sit down
[00:08:21.960]with head football coach, Matt Rhule.
[00:08:23.280]That's coming up next.

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Red-White Spring Game

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