The Installation of Ronnie Green

University Communication Author

04/14/2017 Added

228 Plays

Description

Ronnie Green is installed as 20th chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, April 6, 2017 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:02.401](stately music)
[00:03:34.957](elegant music)
[00:06:43.358](dignified music)
[00:09:47.881]Good morning, I'm Bob Whitehouse.
[00:09:50.659]I'm Chairman of the Board of Regents
[00:09:51.832]for the University of Nebraska.
[00:09:54.039]It is my pleasure to welcome you
[00:09:55.714]to the installation ceremony of Ronnie D. Green
[00:09:59.305]as the 20th Chancellor
[00:10:01.280]of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:10:03.943]Installation ceremonies are an ancient academic tradition,
[00:10:08.684]but they're still of modern value.
[00:10:11.509]Today's ceremony links
[00:10:14.394]between the past and the present
[00:10:17.137]and establishes yet another significant milestone
[00:10:20.843]in this 148 year history of this university.
[00:10:25.701]This ceremony offers us a time to celebrate and reflect
[00:10:29.764]upon the important role higher education plays
[00:10:32.799]in our society, and it speaks of the importance
[00:10:35.917]this land-grant university has made
[00:10:38.197]in the history of the state
[00:10:40.054]and the contributions it will make to future generations.
[00:10:44.646]We are pleased that so many friends and supporters
[00:10:47.164]of the University of Nebraska
[00:10:49.071]and of Dr. Green could be with us today.
[00:10:52.269]We also welcome those of you
[00:10:54.101]who are joining us live on our webcast.
[00:10:57.971]And now please rise if you're able
[00:11:01.240]as Jamie Reimer, Assistant Professor of Voice
[00:11:03.976]in the Glenn Korff School of Music
[00:11:06.024]will sing the national anthem
[00:11:07.990]accompanied by the University of Nebraska brass quintet.
[00:11:12.371]Please direct your attention to the flag.
[00:11:15.274]Pursuant to an act of Congress
[00:11:18.031]who has had those who have served in the military
[00:11:21.252]that may salute even though they're not in uniform.
[00:11:24.925]The colors are presented to us by the Naval ROTC corps.
[00:11:29.706]Gentlemen, please remove your hats.
[00:11:46.420](stately music)
[00:11:58.025]♫ Oh, say can you see
[00:12:03.403]♫ By the dawn's early light
[00:12:08.884]♫ What so proudly we hailed
[00:12:14.513]♫ At the twilight's last gleaming
[00:12:20.628]♫ Whose broad stripes and bright stars
[00:12:26.149]♫ Through the perilous fight
[00:12:31.738]♫ O'er the ramparts we watched
[00:12:37.495]♫ Were so gallantly streaming
[00:12:43.843]♫ And the rocket's red glare
[00:12:49.434]♫ The bombs bursting in air
[00:12:55.065]♫ Gave proof through the night
[00:13:00.672]♫ That our flag was still there
[00:13:06.644]♫ Oh, say does that star spangled
[00:13:13.333]♫ Banner yet wave
[00:13:20.940]♫ O'er the land of the free
[00:13:29.753]♫ And the home of the brave
[00:13:57.450](speaks commands indistinctly)
[00:14:16.283]You may please be seated.
[00:14:21.647]I want to welcome Greg Bouvier,
[00:14:24.248]Senior Pastor at Sheridan Lutheran Church
[00:14:27.130]and a close personal friend
[00:14:28.269]of Chancellor Green and his family,
[00:14:30.254]certainly to the podium now to deliver the invocation
[00:14:33.399]followed by Dr. Hank Bounds,
[00:14:35.743]President of the University of Nebraska.
[00:14:48.201]Won't you bow your heads with me in prayer?
[00:14:53.537]Gracious God,
[00:14:55.938]today is a significant day for the University of Nebraska,
[00:15:00.057]and we are grateful for our many blessings.
[00:15:03.888]Together, we invoke your presence in this place
[00:15:05.949]and ask that you would reveal yourself to us
[00:15:09.118]so that we may sense the hope of the future we share.
[00:15:13.182]Provide, we pray, continued excellence in education
[00:15:17.668]so that we might positively impact this great state,
[00:15:20.753]our nation, and our world.
[00:15:23.745]Strengthen our scholarship and fellowship.
[00:15:28.278]As we seek to create the good life that we know in Nebraska,
[00:15:31.283]guide the work of each student, professor,
[00:15:34.527]administrator, alumnus, and friend of this community.
[00:15:38.175]Unite us and propel us forth in mission.
[00:15:43.186]Today, we ask with all humility and grace
[00:15:45.150]that you would endow Dr. Ronnie Green with your presence.
[00:15:48.438]In a position which entails more wisdom,
[00:15:50.701]courage, and effort than any one person can put forth,
[00:15:54.419]we ask that you might be that which makes Dr. Green
[00:15:57.716]capable for all he will face.
[00:16:02.071]It is with joy that he serves,
[00:16:04.688]and we pray that it is with your strength
[00:16:06.409]that we walks this journey.
[00:16:08.490]Soften each failure.
[00:16:10.687]Uplift each burden.
[00:16:12.117]Enhance each celebration,
[00:16:13.812]and bolster each opportunity
[00:16:16.203]so that Dr. Green may continue to serve
[00:16:18.266]as selflessly here as he has done.
[00:16:21.840]May the seeds he plants come to full maturity,
[00:16:24.931]and may the yield be bountiful.
[00:16:27.554]We pray these things in your name, Holy God,
[00:16:29.471]and we give thanks to Dr. Green
[00:16:32.083]and for the University of Nebraska, Amen.
[00:16:44.487]Good morning and welcome.
[00:16:45.320]I'm Hank Bounds, President of the University of Nebraska.
[00:16:49.523]The University of Nebraska was founded in 1869
[00:16:53.582]and continues its land-grant mission today,
[00:16:57.124]serving Nebraskans through education,
[00:16:59.579]research, and extension.
[00:17:01.812]As Nebraska's only land-grant university,
[00:17:05.007]we have a special opportunity
[00:17:08.220]and obligation in this regard.
[00:17:11.130]The university is an institution that invest in Nebraskans
[00:17:14.744]and binds them together while contributing
[00:17:17.400]significantly to the economic, cultural,
[00:17:19.822]and social well-being of Nebraska.
[00:17:22.624]It is now my pleasure to welcome
[00:17:25.073]the dignitaries joining us here on stage.
[00:17:27.834]I would ask them to please stand
[00:17:29.867]and ask you that you help me recognize them
[00:17:32.645]as I introduce them.
[00:17:34.430]First, it's my privilege to welcome
[00:17:36.809]the Governor of the great state of Nebraska,
[00:17:40.221]the Honorable Pete Ricketts, Governor.
[00:17:42.513](audience applauds)
[00:17:48.358]Next I would like to recognize
[00:17:50.189]members of the Board of Regents
[00:17:51.416]of the University of Nebraska.
[00:17:53.347]We appreciate all that you do for our state,
[00:17:55.471]our communities, and the university.
[00:17:57.899]Will you please stand as I call,
[00:17:59.256]and I will call them all together
[00:18:01.190]and we will recognize them as one body.
[00:18:03.595]First Chairman Bob Whitehouse from Papillion.
[00:18:06.579]Regent Tim Clare from Lincoln.
[00:18:09.159]Regent Hal Daub from Omaha.
[00:18:11.937]Regent Paul Kenney from Kearney.
[00:18:14.785]Regent Bob Phares from North Platte.
[00:18:17.389]And Regent Rob Schafer from Beatrice.
[00:18:19.774]Please help me recognize this group.
[00:18:21.414](audience applauds)
[00:18:28.291]Now for our student regents
[00:18:30.269]who are the voices of our 53,000 students.
[00:18:34.968]Some are just ending their terms and some are beginning.
[00:18:38.033]They are UNO Regent Spencer Hartman,
[00:18:40.811]UNO Regent Joe Zach,
[00:18:42.962]UNK Regent Rachel Flaugh,
[00:18:45.686]and UNO Regent Patrick Davlin, welcome.
[00:18:49.099](audience applauds)
[00:18:56.226]Next like to recognize the four chancellors
[00:18:58.969]who represent each of the University of Nebraska campuses.
[00:19:02.926]Chancellor John Christensen
[00:19:04.437]from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
[00:19:06.985]Chancellor Doug Kristensen
[00:19:08.484]from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
[00:19:11.336]Chancellor Jeffrey Gold
[00:19:12.576]from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
[00:19:15.351]And of course Chancellor Ronnie Green,
[00:19:17.066]University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:19:18.971]who we will officially install later in the ceremony.
[00:19:22.561]Welcome gentlemen.
[00:19:23.574](audience applauds)
[00:19:30.187]Also pleased to have with us
[00:19:31.365]two former university administrators
[00:19:33.385]whose vision, dedication, and hard work
[00:19:36.752]have contributed to the success and momentum
[00:19:40.477]of the institution and the campus we celebrate today.
[00:19:43.548]Please welcome past NU President
[00:19:45.499]and past UNO Chancellor Martin Massengale
[00:19:49.088]and past UNO Chancellor Harvey Perlman.
[00:19:51.667](audience applauds)
[00:19:59.733]Also seated on the stage
[00:20:01.011]are senior leaders of the University of Nebraska,
[00:20:03.896]the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus,
[00:20:06.344]the University of Nebraska Foundation,
[00:20:08.572]as well as the campuses that complete
[00:20:10.367]the University of Nebraska.
[00:20:12.057]You will find their names listed in the program.
[00:20:14.649]Would these individuals please stand
[00:20:16.448]and let us recognize you?
[00:20:18.429](audience applauds)
[00:20:28.813]It's now my pleasure to recognize
[00:20:30.706]and ask the following groups
[00:20:32.278]who participated in the processional
[00:20:34.503]today to please stand.
[00:20:36.291]We will applaud after I have called all of the groups,
[00:20:39.981]the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Marshal Corps,
[00:20:43.772]our student honorary organizations, the Innocents
[00:20:46.654]and the Black Masque Chapter of the Mortar Board,
[00:20:50.279]delegates of learned colleges and institutions
[00:20:53.201]including leaders of a number
[00:20:55.035]of Nebraska's colleges and universities,
[00:20:58.271]and University of Nebraska faculty representatives, welcome.
[00:21:03.021](audience applauds)
[00:21:10.016]Now it is my distinct honor to welcome
[00:21:12.461]the Governor of the State of Nebraska, Pete Ricketts,
[00:21:14.597]to bring greetings, Governor.
[00:21:18.136](audience applauds)
[00:21:23.630]Well, good morning everybody.
[00:21:26.695]Well, thank you, that's very friendly
[00:21:28.381]to say good morning back, that's awesome.
[00:21:29.624]I'm glad to see we got some participation
[00:21:31.056]going here this morning.
[00:21:33.033]I can't tell you what an honor and a privilege it is
[00:21:35.828]for me to be here for a couple of reasons.
[00:21:38.921]First of all,
[00:21:40.483]I think ceremonies like this are so important.
[00:21:44.784]Ceremonies are celebrations.
[00:21:48.052]They recognize the individuals, the institutions
[00:21:51.303]that strengthen our society.
[00:21:54.966]It really binds our traditions
[00:21:56.834]from one generation to the next,
[00:21:59.486]and I think we've lost some of that
[00:22:01.427]in our civil society today.
[00:22:04.323]And that's why I think it's so important
[00:22:05.792]that institutions like the University of Nebraska
[00:22:08.392]continue, as Regent Whitehouse said,
[00:22:11.085]those ancient traditions that go back hundreds of years,
[00:22:15.428]that we recognize the institutions that are so important
[00:22:21.018]to our civilization.
[00:22:23.165]So thank you all for being here today.
[00:22:25.492]Because I think that this is what helps
[00:22:27.449]bind us together as a community.
[00:22:30.747]I'm also excited because we're celebrating not only
[00:22:34.987]Chancellor Green's installation
[00:22:37.710]but also the University of Nebraska.
[00:22:40.634]The University of Nebraska was founded in 1869,
[00:22:44.137]so from our earliest days of statehood,
[00:22:47.371]the university has been a part
[00:22:49.577]of our history here in Nebraska
[00:22:51.810]and important in growing our state.
[00:22:56.058]It was created as part of the Morrill Act of 1862,
[00:23:00.406]which was designed for the purpose of giving federal land
[00:23:05.015]to states to create colleges
[00:23:07.808]that would focus on agriculture and the mechanical arts.
[00:23:12.208]And of course here in Nebraska,
[00:23:14.447]that is vitally important.
[00:23:17.099]Agriculture is over 20% of our state's economy.
[00:23:21.447]One in four jobs in Nebraska is tied back to agriculture,
[00:23:24.865]and the University of Nebraska has played a pivotal role
[00:23:27.575]in helping ensure agriculture has been strong in our state
[00:23:31.762]for us the last 158 years
[00:23:33.687]and for the university the last 148 years.
[00:23:37.205]And so that's an important role that we need to recognize,
[00:23:39.841]that the University of Nebraska has
[00:23:41.001]as a land-grant institution
[00:23:43.572]and why it was created in the first place.
[00:23:47.183]We're also here to recognize Chancellor Green
[00:23:52.248]and his installation as the 20th chancellor.
[00:23:54.321]Think about that, a 148 years of history and he's number 20.
[00:23:59.824]I also have had the privilege of working with Ronnie,
[00:24:04.110]you know, since I've been governor, and it's a privilege.
[00:24:06.025]In fact, I lift lines of his
[00:24:08.955]occasionally to use in my speeches.
[00:24:11.266]Ronnie, you know which one I'm gonna say, don't you?
[00:24:14.966]Just the opportunity we have here in Nebraska
[00:24:17.840]because we are an agricultural state,
[00:24:19.774]that by 2050, there'll be two billion more people
[00:24:22.469]on the face of the earth.
[00:24:24.379]And because of rising standards of living
[00:24:25.877]in places like Asia,
[00:24:28.368]we will have to produce 100% more food and 70% of that
[00:24:32.119]will have to come from productivity and innovation.
[00:24:34.785]Okay, that's a Ronnie Green line,
[00:24:35.947]and just so you know, Chancellor,
[00:24:37.929]I give you credit for that
[00:24:39.207]every time you're in the audience.
[00:24:40.934](audience laughs)
[00:24:46.882]And of course that gets exactly to why
[00:24:48.540]Chancellor Green is the perfect person
[00:24:50.817]to be chancellor for the University of Nebraska.
[00:24:54.025]His background, he comes from a rural family.
[00:24:58.618]He's had a long career advocating for agriculture.
[00:25:02.933]He's, for example, been at USDA's
[00:25:06.796]USMARC, the Meat Animal Research Center.
[00:25:10.316]He's also been the Harlan Vice Chancellor
[00:25:13.405]for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
[00:25:16.623]So he understands how important agriculture is
[00:25:20.705]to our country and in particular to our state.
[00:25:23.980]And therefore I cannot think of a more fitting person
[00:25:26.727]to be chancellor for the University of Nebraska
[00:25:29.536]than somebody like Ronnie Green
[00:25:30.986]who understands how important that is.
[00:25:34.668]And of course I can't think of a more noble mission
[00:25:37.687]than feeding a growing world,
[00:25:40.125]and all of this comes together
[00:25:42.377]through the University of Nebraska, the State of Nebraska,
[00:25:45.627]our top industry agriculture, and Ronnie Green.
[00:25:50.182]It's really an exciting time,
[00:25:52.059]and I know that as chancellor,
[00:25:54.941]Ronnie Green will continue to drive excellence in innovation
[00:25:59.658]in our state's leading industry
[00:26:01.633]and that the University of Nebraska
[00:26:02.778]will continue to play that pivotal role
[00:26:05.394]in growing our state.
[00:26:08.103]So I'm excited for the future we have ahead of us,
[00:26:12.081]for great leaders like Ronnie Green,
[00:26:14.318]for great institutions like the University of Nebraska.
[00:26:17.949]Thank you very much, Chancellor,
[00:26:19.229]for your contributions to our great state.
[00:26:21.933]Thank you all for your role
[00:26:23.716]in making this the best place in the world
[00:26:25.913]to live, work, and raise a family.
[00:26:28.976]I'm excited about our future.
[00:26:30.935]God bless you all in what you do,
[00:26:33.147]and God bless the great state of Nebraska.
[00:26:35.813](audience applauds)
[00:26:43.265]Thank you Governor Ricketts.
[00:26:44.360]It's a tradition, as all of you know,
[00:26:45.953]at the installation of a new chancellor
[00:26:48.336]for representatives of the academic community
[00:26:50.514]to offer words of welcome and support to the new leaders.
[00:26:54.831]I would ask you to direct your attention
[00:26:56.720]to the screens at this time.
[00:26:59.275](solemn music)
[00:28:48.497](audience applauds)
[00:28:55.868]Please welcome the University Singers led
[00:28:58.385]by Dr. Pete Eklund, Director of Choral Activities
[00:29:01.390]in the Glenn Korff School of Music.
[00:29:03.579]They are singing a piece by Pepper Choplin
[00:29:06.742]titled You Will Reap What You Sow.
[00:29:53.345]♫ Doo
[00:29:55.779]♫ Doo
[00:29:58.000]♫ Doo
[00:30:00.543]♫ Dooo
[00:30:03.176]♫ Doo Doo ♫ Ooooooooooooo
[00:30:08.168]♫ Doo Doo ♫ Ooooooooooooo
[00:30:11.928]♫ What you sow, you will reap ♫ Doo
[00:30:15.221]♫ Reap what you sow ♫ Doo
[00:30:17.558]♫ What you plant in your life ♫ Doo
[00:30:19.337]♫ Will surely grow ♫ Doo
[00:30:22.011]♫ And what you grow with love ♫ Doo
[00:30:25.661]♫ Will surely bloom ♫ Doo
[00:30:28.262]♫ And the fruit of your labor ♫ Doo
[00:30:29.917]♫ Will come back to you ♫ Doo
[00:30:33.366]♫ What you sow, you will reap
[00:30:36.715]♫ Reap what you sow
[00:30:39.090]♫ What you plant in your life will surely grow
[00:30:43.701]♫ And what you grow with love
[00:30:47.434]♫ Will surely bloom
[00:30:50.158]♫ And the fruit of your labor will come back to you
[00:30:54.741]♫ Come back to you
[00:30:57.088]♫ Do not tire from doing good
[00:31:01.259]♫ And never give up ♫ Never give up
[00:31:04.018]♫ When the road gets rough
[00:31:06.257]♫ For one day soon a great reward you'll see
[00:31:12.342]♫ From the good you've done
[00:31:15.291]♫ When the harvest comes
[00:31:19.492]♫ When the harvest comes
[00:31:23.490]♫ What you sow, you will reap ♫ What you sow, you will reap
[00:31:27.243]♫ Reap what you sow ♫ What you sow
[00:31:29.669]♫ What you plant in your life will surely keep
[00:31:33.395]♫ Until you achieve the things ♫ Till you achieve the things
[00:31:38.247]♫ You're striving for ♫ You strive
[00:31:40.907]♫ And taste the joy ♫ And taste, and taste the joy
[00:31:43.870]♫ And taste the joy, ♫ And then
[00:31:46.614]♫ You'll taste the joy of your reward
[00:31:53.619]♫ Come taste the joy of your reward
[00:32:03.865]♫ Doo Doo ♫ Ooooooooooo
[00:32:08.809]♫ Doo Doo ♫ Ooooooooooo
[00:32:12.773]♫ What you sow, you will reap ♫ Doo
[00:32:16.428]♫ Reap what you sow ♫ Doo
[00:32:18.791]♫ What you plant in your life ♫ Doo
[00:32:20.392]♫ Will surely grow ♫ Doo
[00:32:23.360]♫ And what you grow with love ♫ Doo
[00:32:27.180]♫ Will surely bloom ♫ Doo
[00:32:30.203]♫ And the fruit of your labor ♫ Doo
[00:32:31.767]♫ Will come back to you ♫ Doo
[00:32:35.449]♫ What you grow with love
[00:32:39.080]♫ Will surely bloom
[00:32:43.385]♫ And the fruit of your labor will come back
[00:32:49.928]♫ Come back to you
[00:32:53.418]♫ To you
[00:32:55.440]♫ Come back to you
[00:33:07.447](audience applauds)
[00:33:38.374]Wow, thank you to the University Singers.
[00:33:41.720]That was absolutely beautiful.
[00:33:44.130]It's now my pleasure to welcome to the podium
[00:33:45.896]a great friend of the University of the State of Nebraska,
[00:33:50.856]to the university and to the State of Nebraska,
[00:33:52.658]Mr. Michael Yanney, Chairman Emeritus of Burlington Capital.
[00:33:56.629]He will bring a special introduction of our keynote address.
[00:34:01.827](audience applauds)
[00:34:14.120]Thank you President Bounds
[00:34:15.475]and thank you for your great leadership
[00:34:18.666]of this incredible institution.
[00:34:22.977]Gail and I are delighted to be here to help celebrate
[00:34:27.961]the new leadership
[00:34:30.704]of Ronnie Green, the new chancellorship,
[00:34:33.810]and we're really gonna see some great work.
[00:34:39.138]Chancellor Ronnie Green in his infinite wisdom
[00:34:42.574]decided last fall
[00:34:45.745]to have the Honorable Clayton Yeutter
[00:34:48.891]be today's keynote speaker.
[00:34:52.694]He asked the former Secretary of Agriculture,
[00:34:56.354]and he was also the former Ambassador of Foreign Trade,
[00:35:01.050]to have a video done of his entire speech.
[00:35:06.548]And what an incredible idea that was.
[00:35:10.106]You're going to see this in just a couple of minutes.
[00:35:14.330]I wrote an introduction
[00:35:15.595]that I was going to use this morning,
[00:35:18.969]but I'll tell you quite accidentally,
[00:35:20.711]my wife gave me an email
[00:35:23.918]that our daughter Lisa Roskens
[00:35:25.994]sent to Clayton Yeutter before he passed away.
[00:35:29.890]And after reading her letter,
[00:35:31.176]I decided my introduction was going in the trash pile,
[00:35:35.226]and here's her email.
[00:35:38.546]She said, "I sent the following to Clayton today.
[00:35:42.321]"I simply cannot speak of the news without crying,
[00:35:45.896]"and I'm sure the people on the airplane
[00:35:48.810]"are wondering why I'm crying and typing.
[00:35:52.165]"I just had to say something to him
[00:35:53.949]"while he was still alive."
[00:35:58.994]She said, "Clayton, I just wanted to drop you a note
[00:36:01.824]"because every time I watch our Huskers on Saturday,
[00:36:06.624]"I think of you.
[00:36:08.633]"it's funny but when people would ask me,
[00:36:12.207]"what were you like as a board member,
[00:36:15.764]"my memory would skip the last, say, 40 years
[00:36:18.690]"and go back to the days
[00:36:19.761]"we would sit underneath the press box
[00:36:22.384]"before we had these spectacular seats or suites.
[00:36:27.731]"And I know that people asking me
[00:36:29.261]"wanted to know stories about this amazing cabinet member
[00:36:33.784]"and the only person from Nebraska
[00:36:36.292]"to serve two US presidents,
[00:36:39.242]"but I always had to start with football.
[00:36:43.159]"You may not know it but before you were providing me
[00:36:46.183]"with such sage and awful difficult advice at Burlington,
[00:36:50.339]"you taught me about class, character,
[00:36:53.874]"and a positive outlook
[00:36:56.167]"when we'd watch those darned Oklahoma players
[00:36:58.668]"ruin our dreams.
[00:37:00.070](audience laughs)
[00:37:02.744]"I wanted to scream things my parents told me I should not.
[00:37:06.037]"I wanted to blame someone,
[00:37:08.500]"and I wanted to cry.
[00:37:09.754]"But the whole time, I'm sure you felt the same way,
[00:37:13.478]"but you never gave in to the more base reactions
[00:37:17.939]"that sadly are so prevalent today.
[00:37:21.616]"You saw it for what it was, a game,
[00:37:25.476]"entertainment, and something that would never
[00:37:28.124]"likely change the course of world events.
[00:37:31.415]"Yet on the other hand,
[00:37:34.355]"you went on to actually change world events yourself,
[00:37:37.950]"and again you did it with that same
[00:37:41.250]"class, character, and positive outlook
[00:37:44.599]"that you always displayed in your red sweater on Saturdays.
[00:37:49.559]"I must admit that I don't always mind my language,
[00:37:52.323]"and sometimes I'm tempted to blame someone else
[00:37:54.658]"for the problems.
[00:37:56.386]"However, when I do, I think of you
[00:37:58.310]"and hope that in some small way,
[00:38:00.155]"I can be half as good of an example as you are to me.
[00:38:05.025]"Know that your inspirations continues
[00:38:07.217]"beyond Saturday afternoons and beyond our board room.
[00:38:12.340]"I miss you and hear your words of wisdom almost daily."
[00:38:17.573]Now in the annals of the history
[00:38:19.891]of the great state of Nebraska,
[00:38:22.749]Clayton Yeutter will stand tall
[00:38:24.559]as one of the most important leaders of our time
[00:38:28.188]and one of our nation's most skilled
[00:38:30.582]international diplomats.
[00:38:33.244]He has left a very indelible stamp on our state.
[00:38:37.845]He loved Nebraska.
[00:38:40.667]We love him and may God bless his soul and the family,
[00:38:44.695]and here's the video.
[00:38:47.223](breezy music)
[00:45:44.171](audience applauds)
[00:46:25.957](crowd applauds)
[00:46:40.602](breezy music)
[00:46:52.277](audience applauds)
[00:47:11.980]Mr. Yanney, thank you for the touching introduction
[00:47:14.998]and thank you for sharing the email.
[00:47:17.959]Chancellor Green, what a great decision
[00:47:20.899]to ask Clayton to, really in his last days with us,
[00:47:25.817]give us one last bit of sage wisdom and, wow, was it good.
[00:47:29.036]So thanks again to Clayton Yeutter
[00:47:30.862]and thanks to the Yeutter family.
[00:47:32.939]It's been more than 15 years since we installed
[00:47:36.051]a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor.
[00:47:39.112]In addition to the physical transformation
[00:47:40.902]that has occurred on campus,
[00:47:43.206]there's a feeling that even though Nebraska
[00:47:46.157]is facing difficult budget issues,
[00:47:48.914]we are still on track to accomplish goals
[00:47:50.877]that have been long within our reach,
[00:47:53.493]a credit to the steadfast leadership
[00:47:55.393]of Ronnie's predecessor, Chancellor Harvey Perlman,
[00:47:58.887]the faculty and the staff,
[00:48:00.403]and many other people in this room.
[00:48:02.798]They believe, as I do, that Lincoln is among the leading
[00:48:07.904]research universities in the country.
[00:48:10.744]So we begin a new era at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:48:14.279]After a national search, we had the good fortune
[00:48:17.214]that Dr. Ronnie Green was the right person to fill
[00:48:20.289]this job at the right time.
[00:48:23.758]He was named Chancellor on April 6, 2016
[00:48:27.387]and confirmed by the Board of Regents on May 25.
[00:48:30.787]He began his tenure on July 1.
[00:48:33.155]He moved into the chancellor's office
[00:48:34.526]during a time of great optimism and momentum
[00:48:37.639]but also a time of great challenges.
[00:48:40.884]Instead of reciting Ronnie's bio,
[00:48:43.350]which you can read in your program,
[00:48:45.458]please direct your attention to the screen
[00:48:47.232]to hear about the bold future of our land-grant university.
[00:48:53.979](lively music)
[00:51:57.114](bright music)
[00:52:57.692](audience laughs)
[00:53:42.121](audience applauds)
[00:53:50.830]Dr. Green, will you please join me at the podium?
[00:53:57.453]Ronnie, your challenge is to identify opportunities
[00:54:00.954]to help the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:54:03.672]achieve its full potential.
[00:54:05.814]In the time you've been with us, it is clear
[00:54:08.491]that you have the wisdom and talent
[00:54:10.189]to lead this great institution.
[00:54:12.940]You've built partnerships with faculty, staff, students,
[00:54:15.721]alumni, donors, and community leaders.
[00:54:19.500]Your desire to raise all of us
[00:54:21.704]to our highest potential is evident.
[00:54:24.928]Because you care about the University of Nebraska,
[00:54:27.925]its students, and the citizens of the state,
[00:54:31.404]you will, with the help of an excellent faculty and staff,
[00:54:34.827]lead the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:54:37.332]to a new pinnacle of success.
[00:54:40.075]Chancellor Ronnie D. Green,
[00:54:42.195]by the authority vested in me by the Board of Regents
[00:54:45.427]as President of the University of Nebraska,
[00:54:48.469]with the support of the faculty, the staff, students,
[00:54:52.737]and alumni and friends of this great university
[00:54:56.302]and before your family
[00:54:58.214]and the distinguished company gathered here today,
[00:55:01.128]it is my privilege and pleasure
[00:55:03.829]to install you as the 20th Chancellor
[00:55:06.837]of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:55:09.200](audience applauds)
[00:55:15.946](speaks indistinctly)
[00:55:41.610]As a token of the powers, privileges,
[00:55:44.291]authority, and responsibility of your position,
[00:55:47.641]I now bestow upon you the official medallion of office.
[00:55:51.145]In accepting these medallion,
[00:55:53.158]you receive the powers and the obligations
[00:55:55.952]along with the challenges and the joys
[00:55:58.790]which attend this high office.
[00:56:00.761]You have our collective best wishes and our highest hopes
[00:56:04.682]and my personal regards and congratulations.
[00:56:07.855](audience applauds)
[00:56:34.203]Let me move that out of your way.
[00:56:44.521]Governor Ricketts, President Bounds,
[00:56:47.411]members of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents,
[00:56:50.913]and collective leadership,
[00:56:53.310]our collective family of faculty, staff,
[00:56:58.182]students, alumni, and supporters of this great university,
[00:57:03.179]certainly members of our immediate family
[00:57:05.347]and extended family and friends who are with us here today,
[00:57:09.621]and institutional leaders of higher education
[00:57:13.643]and government and the private sector,
[00:57:17.920]I can't begin to thank you all enough for being here today,
[00:57:22.574]for celebrating this historic moment
[00:57:24.655]in the history of our university
[00:57:26.557]and certainly for us personally.
[00:57:29.528]But most of all, I thank you for your support,
[00:57:33.053]your confidence in placing me in this position,
[00:57:37.289]your support and confidence of this university in the past,
[00:57:41.249]and even more for your continuing support and confidence
[00:57:45.704]as we move into a bold future.
[00:57:49.432]I first want to take a moment to pause
[00:57:52.180]and to thank my dear friend and late mentor
[00:57:56.613]Secretary and Ambassador Clayton Yeutter,
[00:57:59.837]who just as he did throughout this life when I went to him
[00:58:04.531]in what were to be the waning weeks of his life
[00:58:07.923]and ask him if he would be willing to honor us
[00:58:10.602]with his presence here today
[00:58:13.054]and with his thoughts and with his wisdom
[00:58:16.328]and with his foresight about our state and our university,
[00:58:20.194]as he did throughout his life, he didn't hesitate
[00:58:23.072]to say that he would be honored to do that.
[00:58:27.110]I look forward to leaving tomorrow
[00:58:30.349]to join the Yeutter family and colleagues
[00:58:33.633]and friends from around the world
[00:58:36.200]to celebrate his life so richly lived
[00:58:39.353]in services on Saturday.
[00:58:43.481]It is with profound humility
[00:58:46.192]and a deep sense of commitment and responsibility
[00:58:48.935]that I accept the honor and privilege
[00:58:51.540]of serving as the 20th chancellor
[00:58:54.048]of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
[00:58:57.934]Now I know that you all know
[00:59:00.337]as all things that we do in life
[00:59:02.944]that we don't do them alone.
[00:59:05.447]I'm lucky, blessed to be surrounded
[00:59:08.804]by an amazing team of faculty and staff
[00:59:13.164]and leaders of this great institution
[00:59:16.007]every day that work so hard to fulfill its mission
[00:59:19.856]and its purpose.
[00:59:21.812]But I'm daily reminded about how fortunate I am
[00:59:25.575]to be supported around an unwavering, passionate, graceful,
[00:59:30.459]and unconditionally loving clan of family.
[00:59:34.656]My parents, Marion and Frances Green, now deceased,
[00:59:40.191]they're two people that could not have taught
[00:59:43.748]two young people like my sister Debbie
[00:59:46.019]who I'm so glad is here with us today
[00:59:49.294]the importance of work ethic
[00:59:51.682]and responsibility and accountability
[00:59:55.484]and loving one's neighbor as they love themselves
[00:59:59.391]and putting forth their best effort every day
[01:00:02.705]so that their work or your work, our work
[01:00:06.121]can impact others and make our world a better place.
[01:00:11.035]In 1985,
[01:00:13.181]I was welcomed and adopted
[01:00:14.703]into the Pauley family of Harvard, Nebraska
[01:00:18.080]as their son-in-law and brother-in-law,
[01:00:21.707]and that started my journey of that family
[01:00:24.416]bringing me up in the Nebraska way
[01:00:27.510]and their unending love for this state
[01:00:31.100]and for this great university.
[01:00:33.968]Now I have absolutely no doubt
[01:00:36.856]that were they still with us today,
[01:00:39.617]that Wilbur and Doris Pauley
[01:00:41.789]would have been the first people
[01:00:43.076]to be here on the front row of the Lied Center this morning,
[01:00:46.544]brimming with excitement, with energy, and with enthusiasm,
[01:00:50.765]but most of all, with expectation for this great privilege
[01:00:55.222]that their children have been given.
[01:00:58.932]And most importantly, Nebraska gave me my best friend,
[01:01:02.837]my partner, the love of my life, Jane Olivia Pauley,
[01:01:07.197]my rock and foundation for the last 31 years.
[01:01:11.650]I can assure you that there has never been a more committed
[01:01:15.255]first partner than Husker Jane as our family knows her.
[01:01:19.032](audience laughs and applauds)
[01:01:28.982]And it is safe to say that I cannot have a stronger,
[01:01:32.249]more compassionate and committed partner
[01:01:34.738]in serving the university and the state
[01:01:36.736]that we both love so deeply.
[01:01:39.448]Together, we have been abundantly blessed
[01:01:41.536]through our journey,
[01:01:43.026]but never more than having the privilege
[01:01:45.697]of being the parents of four amazing young people.
[01:01:49.349]Our sons, Justin and Nate, daughters, Kelli and Regan,
[01:01:53.619]all four are proud Huskers
[01:01:56.001]who carry our family mantra every day,
[01:01:59.897]that to who much has been given,
[01:02:02.588]even more will be required.
[01:02:05.510]I'm very very fortunate
[01:02:07.197]and blessed to be surrounded by such a clan
[01:02:10.199]who lift me up every day
[01:02:12.333]and give me the opportunity in turn to do the same for them.
[01:02:17.039](audience applauds)
[01:02:27.698]You know, I think especially on days like today,
[01:02:30.897]it's worth reflecting
[01:02:32.024]on what the founders of the University of Nebraska
[01:02:34.951]and indeed our higher education system
[01:02:37.958]were envisioning for our state, our country, and our world.
[01:02:42.377]And may I suggest to you
[01:02:44.608]that if not for bold, unconventional,
[01:02:47.501]and certainly at times highly controversial ideas,
[01:02:51.049]that our educational system and indeed our way of life
[01:02:54.592]would have been markedly different than we enjoy today.
[01:02:59.058]Prior to John Locke's essays
[01:03:00.788]published first in the late 1600s,
[01:03:03.303]it was a very common belief
[01:03:05.644]that we were a function of how we were born
[01:03:08.927]or who we were born to
[01:03:10.933]with the innate abilities that we were given in that sense
[01:03:14.747]rather than what we learned or what we experienced
[01:03:18.255]or what we could gain through our life.
[01:03:21.603]His writings spurred thinking about
[01:03:24.145]how an educational system should be developed
[01:03:26.712]and eventually an educational system
[01:03:29.336]that led to one like we have today
[01:03:31.783]that is open and accessible to all,
[01:03:34.256]not just those that are more privileged by their birth.
[01:03:39.020]After America became a country,
[01:03:41.209]Thomas Jefferson's views on education
[01:03:43.819]began another transformation,
[01:03:46.073]embodied with the founding of the University of Virginia
[01:03:48.517]in my home state in 1819
[01:03:51.062]as one of the first public higher education institutions
[01:03:55.462]in the fledgling republic at that time,
[01:03:58.571]and a few decades later, this grand man
[01:04:00.710]known as the 16th president of the United States,
[01:04:03.205]Abraham Lincoln, amongst many of his other
[01:04:06.140]bold and transformational accomplishments of leadership,
[01:04:09.562]in a time of our country being very deeply divided,
[01:04:13.878]signed the Morrill Act that you heard Governor Ricketts
[01:04:16.363]refer to earlier this morning, in 1862,
[01:04:21.082]changing the shape of our educational system,
[01:04:23.578]not only in America but the world forevermore.
[01:04:29.065]The Morrill Act along with the Homestead Act
[01:04:31.555]and the emergence of the Transcontinental Railroad
[01:04:34.274]opened up Nebraska and the West,
[01:04:36.751]making a way for people
[01:04:38.421]to establish livelihoods on their own terms.
[01:04:42.135]Nebraska was granted 90,000 acres by the federal government
[01:04:46.137]from which to build what was to become
[01:04:48.261]the state's land-grant people's university in Lincoln.
[01:04:52.933]And as we know,
[01:04:54.641]Nebraska, which was just a territory at that time,
[01:04:58.128]and places of higher learning
[01:04:59.677]were just kind of unprecedented in this open country
[01:05:03.184]that the natives referred to as Flat Water.
[01:05:07.102]The Morrill Act established a way
[01:05:09.500]to create a more progressive society,
[01:05:12.131]one that could imagine more prosperity
[01:05:14.342]and inclusivity for all.
[01:05:17.670]Nebraska embodied that early on
[01:05:19.659]as we've been celebrating this year
[01:05:21.213]in our 150th anniversary of statehood.
[01:05:24.452]They established it on the premise
[01:05:26.324]of this state's enduring motto to today
[01:05:29.287]of equality before the law.
[01:05:33.092]Now I'm sure that there are people in this audience
[01:05:36.309]here at the Lied Center this morning
[01:05:38.873]whose ancestors were part of creating
[01:05:41.992]this great legacy that we inherit.
[01:05:45.455]We have to ask ourselves, why did they come here?
[01:05:48.794]Maybe even more, why did they stop here?
[01:05:51.790]Why did they not continue further west,
[01:05:54.138]seeking gold or prosperity like so many did
[01:05:58.180]at that point in our history?
[01:06:00.826]But may I suggest to you
[01:06:03.105]that beyond the rich soil and abundant water of this place,
[01:06:07.054]even without knowing of the great Ogallala Aquifer
[01:06:10.078]that lay beneath their feet,
[01:06:12.471]that Nebraska was envisioned as a place
[01:06:15.123]they could be in the middle of everywhere
[01:06:17.665]and in the middle of everything.
[01:06:20.451]Nebraskans knew then as we do now
[01:06:23.667]that we reap what we sow as you heard the University Singers
[01:06:27.423]express so eloquently earlier this morning.
[01:06:31.245]Then it is establishing a university alongside the new state
[01:06:34.998]would be a very wise investment,
[01:06:36.707]not just for their generation
[01:06:38.520]or their children's generation,
[01:06:40.634]but for generations and indeed centuries to come.
[01:06:44.951]The hard work of starting a fledgling college
[01:06:47.377]in this startup community, in today's language,
[01:06:50.764]of the Lincoln town named after our president on the plains
[01:06:55.433]was left to pioneering chancellors Benton and Fairfield,
[01:06:59.431]who had the responsibility
[01:07:00.873]of setting the unconventional course,
[01:07:02.635]not just building buildings
[01:07:04.032]and developing curriculum and pedagogy
[01:07:07.125]and all of those kind of things and getting students,
[01:07:09.891]but doing it under a completely new
[01:07:12.002]model of higher education,
[01:07:14.130]one that had a tripartite mission,
[01:07:16.829]of teaching and instruction for everyone,
[01:07:19.830]of research and innovation,
[01:07:22.041]and application of that research
[01:07:25.093]out to all of the people.
[01:07:27.844]And may I suggest to you
[01:07:29.802]that there have been many moments
[01:07:31.160]in the nearly 15 decades since in which a chancellor
[01:07:35.675]has an opportunity to help the university leap forward
[01:07:39.386]versus standing on the vestiges of the past.
[01:07:42.920]Imagine, if you will, Chancellor Canfield.
[01:07:46.493]At the turn of the 20th century
[01:07:48.757]when societal needs were changing
[01:07:50.889]due to the Industrial Revolution,
[01:07:53.326]or Chancellor Avery during the time of the Great War
[01:07:57.020]when the country was deeply divided in facing down Germany.
[01:08:00.983]In fact, 100 years ago today,
[01:08:04.076]April 6th 1917
[01:08:06.621]was the day that we declared war on Germany in World War I.
[01:08:12.084]Or Chancellor Burnett, during the Great Depression,
[01:08:15.157]when desperation was rampant
[01:08:17.034]and Nebraska was in risk, if you will,
[01:08:20.609]of being set back decades
[01:08:22.647]by the Dust Bowl and the economic conditions of the time.
[01:08:26.254]Or Chancellor Hardin
[01:08:27.487]in the post-World War II baby boom generation
[01:08:30.476]when it mushroomed the need for education
[01:08:33.550]with the advent of the GI bill
[01:08:35.943]from troops returning from the war.
[01:08:38.735]Or Chancellor Massengale who's with us here this morning,
[01:08:42.137]during the 1980s and the energy and the farm crisis
[01:08:45.432]in Nebraska that meant so much to this place
[01:08:48.127]here at that time.
[01:08:49.712]Or most recently Chancellor Perlman
[01:08:52.243]in the post-9/11 era
[01:08:54.592]at the turn of the 21st century
[01:08:57.453]when our ideals in America were rocked as never before
[01:09:01.681]by radical fundamentalism.
[01:09:04.799]Each one of these great leaders
[01:09:07.344]and the other 13 that I didn't mention this morning
[01:09:10.378]confronted pressures.
[01:09:11.923]They had challenges and outside forces
[01:09:14.652]that required them to employ vision and courage
[01:09:18.269]to further the ongoing transformation of this place
[01:09:21.659]to meet the emerging needs of our state,
[01:09:24.252]our country, and our world.
[01:09:26.799]They did so not by standing idle,
[01:09:29.661]but by moving forward to face the unknown,
[01:09:33.004]to create a future that enabled us to always uphold
[01:09:37.499]the firm commitment of this being
[01:09:39.179]the people's University of Nebraska.
[01:09:43.219]We are indeed reaping today
[01:09:45.604]what our predecessors have sown,
[01:09:48.231]and so may I suggest to you know
[01:09:50.610]that it is our turn to be the sowers.
[01:09:54.512]Now I have to confess to you that I would have never dreamed
[01:09:58.329]that I would be planting seeds today
[01:10:01.126]that'll be reaped in the 22nd century,
[01:10:05.011]that a boy from the hills of Virginia
[01:10:07.745]with a deep blue-collar upbringing,
[01:10:10.259]a first-generation educated college kid,
[01:10:13.616]would have the opportunity to become the chancellor
[01:10:16.764]of a great institution such as this one.
[01:10:20.397]I used this word a year ago
[01:10:22.717]when President Bounds announced the appointment.
[01:10:24.961]It was surreal,
[01:10:26.730]and every day I still wake up and think,
[01:10:30.126]it's a feeling of being surreal.
[01:10:33.462]And still to this day, I sometimes need to be reminded
[01:10:37.253]as my staff kind of daily remind me
[01:10:40.456]of the expectations of the formality of the office,
[01:10:43.689]like this deep robe and funny hat,
[01:10:48.432]and the traditions, as Governor Ricketts talked about,
[01:10:53.595]that bring us together in the academy.
[01:10:57.186]But I can assure you that I never need to be reminded
[01:11:01.357]of the obligations, responsibilities, and excitement
[01:11:04.985]of being the 20th chancellor of this incredible institution
[01:11:09.221]or what an honor it is
[01:11:11.062]to be a part of what this institution has become.
[01:11:15.446]We are now home to almost 26,000 students,
[01:11:20.402]more than ever in our 148 year history,
[01:11:24.763]pursuing graduate and undergraduate and professional degrees
[01:11:28.380]from 136 countries around the world,
[01:11:33.115]truly a global and evermore fully inclusive
[01:11:36.850]campus that we have become.
[01:11:39.684]This spring, we will surpass 280,000 degrees granted
[01:11:44.474]from this institution
[01:11:46.192]and have 200,000 living alumni
[01:11:49.209]in Nebraska and throughout the world.
[01:11:52.725]Our more than 6,400 world-leading faculty and staff
[01:11:55.913]support nine academic colleges
[01:11:58.208]offering 183 undergraduate degrees
[01:12:01.318]and 144 graduate degree programs
[01:12:05.516]and deliver on the university's land-grant mission
[01:12:08.119]of teaching, research, and outreach with distinction
[01:12:11.866]each and every day.
[01:12:14.025]We can proudly count 95 Fulbright Scholars,
[01:12:16.958]22 Rhodes Scholars, 16 Truman Scholars,
[01:12:20.224]and three Nobel Laureates amongst our graduates.
[01:12:23.990]And of course you know
[01:12:25.844]that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[01:12:27.850]leads the nation not by a little but by a lot
[01:12:31.298]with 325 Academic All-Americans,
[01:12:35.001]an honor that recognizes student athletes
[01:12:37.808]for their achievements in athletics,
[01:12:40.180]academics, and community service.
[01:12:43.697]Our university is a large and complex enterprise
[01:12:46.548]with a total annual operating budget
[01:12:48.158]in excess of 1.25 billion dollars,
[01:12:51.159]three campuses here in Lincoln,
[01:12:53.132]a statewide campus with over 43,000 acres
[01:12:56.549]of land that touch all of the 93 counties in our state.
[01:13:01.794]We are recognized as a nationally rising star
[01:13:04.385]in research and innovation
[01:13:06.044]with one of the fastest growing research campuses
[01:13:08.496]in the US in the past decade,
[01:13:10.650]and we are certainly proud
[01:13:12.649]to be a member of the prestigious Big 10 academic alliance
[01:13:16.269]and athletic conference.
[01:13:18.998]But most importantly, folks,
[01:13:21.645]while becoming a large comprehensive research
[01:13:23.841]Carnegie doctoral-granting
[01:13:25.574]public land-grant university,
[01:13:28.071]we have done so without losing our keen focus
[01:13:31.787]on access to education for all
[01:13:35.504]and on doing it with Nebraska values.
[01:13:40.258]No doubt there is very much to be proud of here,
[01:13:44.658]but may I suggest to you that there is an element of pride
[01:13:47.969]that is less tangible
[01:13:49.049]than any of the statistics can describe,
[01:13:51.950]an element that must be felt, not necessarily seen,
[01:13:56.046]a vibe, if you will, that is our fabric
[01:13:58.908]of this university.
[01:14:01.408]Now I'm going to beg your libertine license
[01:14:03.420]here for a moment to go back to my teaching days,
[01:14:08.302]and I'm going to try to paint a picture for you
[01:14:11.291]of what I believed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[01:14:14.773]has meant to this state
[01:14:16.006]as we have grown up over the last 150 years
[01:14:19.220]and what it will be as we move ahead.
[01:14:22.296]And I could use a lot of different allegories
[01:14:24.455]or analogies, if you will, to do that,
[01:14:26.716]but I'm going to use one
[01:14:27.776]that is very near and dear to my heart.
[01:14:29.294]I got a chance to talk to plant geneticists this morning
[01:14:31.360]so I'm all jazzed up.
[01:14:32.998](audience laughs)
[01:14:35.543]I'm going to use DNA
[01:14:38.862]and try to describe to you this thing called DNA,
[01:14:42.411]deoxyribonucleic acid in the scientific jargon,
[01:14:46.422]the code that encodes the genetic potential
[01:14:49.407]of all living organisms,
[01:14:52.346]an intricate system of chromosomes
[01:14:54.949]that are present in every nucleated cell of nucleated bodies
[01:15:00.572]that has a common base language of letters
[01:15:03.479]that has a commonality across species and organisms,
[01:15:07.591]across all of the kingdom,
[01:15:09.033]made up of genes and words that produce products
[01:15:11.916]in a very intricate system
[01:15:14.484]that's finely tuned to work together
[01:15:16.744]to produce gene products that sustain life.
[01:15:21.078]It has to be replicated and transcribed and translated.
[01:15:24.939]It has to be repaired over time
[01:15:27.439]because if it ages and loses to over time
[01:15:31.082]these telomeres, there's my jargon,
[01:15:34.190]at the ends of the chromosomes, the cell dies.
[01:15:38.429]Well, may I suggest to you folks
[01:15:42.310]that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[01:15:44.027]as our statewide comprehensive campus is indeed
[01:15:47.277]the DNA of Nebraska and beyond
[01:15:51.640]and that our mission as we look out
[01:15:53.831]to the immediate and long-term years ahead
[01:15:56.629]has never been more important
[01:15:58.258]to meet the grand challenges of the world.
[01:16:01.116]And as I proposed, our forebears envisioned Nebraska
[01:16:04.076]in the last half of the 19th century,
[01:16:06.698]we are not out in the middle of nowhere
[01:16:09.031]but increasingly in the middle of everywhere and everything.
[01:16:13.702]Governor, congratulations this week.
[01:16:16.780]The Silicon Prairie has found its home
[01:16:19.991]with a Facebook announcement that we heard about
[01:16:22.759]from the governor just a couple of days ago.
[01:16:26.548]Being out in the middle of everywhere and everything
[01:16:28.392]means that we have to continue to elevate
[01:16:32.439]our distinctiveness and our leadership.
[01:16:35.574]We must graduate more scholars faster and more efficiently,
[01:16:39.089]while instilling and equipping our graduates
[01:16:41.245]to be able to continually question, reason, rationalize,
[01:16:45.537]understand, empathize, and synthesize,
[01:16:48.582]to enter the public equipped
[01:16:50.065]to be productive citizens and leaders ahead.
[01:16:54.332]We must be open to change and evolution
[01:16:56.861]as the world around us continues to change so rapidly
[01:17:00.216]as Secretary Yeutter so eloquently said earlier.
[01:17:04.257]We need to consider unconventional ideas
[01:17:06.937]and not constrain ourselves and our future
[01:17:08.949]by being tied or wedded to the traditional norms.
[01:17:12.957]We must challenge ourselves in our thinking.
[01:17:15.617]If we can't invent, innovate, and create at a university,
[01:17:20.455]where can we?
[01:17:22.890]The world today calls for a deepening commitment
[01:17:25.916]to solve wicked problems and challenges
[01:17:28.091]that are important to Nebraska and the world,
[01:17:31.776]like feeding a growing and hungry world
[01:17:33.571]sustainably under a changing climate,
[01:17:36.363]or enhancing early childhood and development in education
[01:17:39.873]to ensure proper success,
[01:17:42.399]or combating infectious disease
[01:17:44.233]and weapons of mass destruction.
[01:17:46.995]We will do so by lowering the silos of reductionism,
[01:17:50.977]academic norms that sometimes hold us back
[01:17:54.221]and hold society back.
[01:17:56.457]New and innovative partnerships
[01:17:57.995]across the academy are called for,
[01:18:00.336]including a stronger embrace of public private partnerships
[01:18:03.932]across the spectrum
[01:18:05.729]and increased collaboration
[01:18:08.006]and I'd call seamless connectivity
[01:18:11.085]between all of the campuses of the University of Nebraska.
[01:18:16.363]Collectively, Nebraska and the world demands
[01:18:19.644]that we must be a bold, engaged, audacious,
[01:18:23.197]accessible, and vibrant people's university,
[01:18:26.282]never more student-centered,
[01:18:28.615]continually research and innovating and developing,
[01:18:32.334]and never more outwardly reaching in our impacts
[01:18:35.676]to be Nebraska's 21st century people's university.
[01:18:40.729]And may I finally suggest to you this morning
[01:18:44.023]that our faculty, our staff,
[01:18:47.039]our students, our alumni,
[01:18:49.994]our family has never been more ready
[01:18:53.384]for the challenge to lead.
[01:18:56.653]Inscribed on Memorial Stadium
[01:18:59.441]is a quote from one of the most famous of all Nebraskans
[01:19:02.965]from over a 100 years ago.
[01:19:05.676]It says that "Destiny is not a matter of chance,
[01:19:09.571]"it is a matter of choice."
[01:19:12.311]The choices that we make today
[01:19:14.803]provide not just for the generation in this room
[01:19:18.135]or the generation that's sitting
[01:19:19.482]in our laboratories and classrooms
[01:19:22.019]or recital halls or on the field today,
[01:19:26.078]but for the generations to come.
[01:19:29.173]As your chancellor, I commit to you
[01:19:31.572]with all of my heart, hands, mind, and soul
[01:19:34.340]that when our successors look back on this era,
[01:19:37.595]they will say that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[01:19:40.459]chose to matter.
[01:19:42.340]We chose to be in the middle of everything.
[01:19:44.900]We chose to be transformative and to sow for the future,
[01:19:48.903]forging ahead like never before,
[01:19:52.034]making those to come stronger, more distinctive,
[01:19:56.004]and brimming with Husker power.
[01:19:59.702]Optimism and fearlessness abound in this place.
[01:20:03.601]It's a spirit that breaks through conventions,
[01:20:07.360]part of that DNA
[01:20:09.488]that transfers to all around us.
[01:20:13.018]I cannot begin to thank you enough
[01:20:15.476]for the opportunity to serve.
[01:20:17.902]It is a remarkable honor and privilege
[01:20:20.450]that I fully embrace as your servant leader.
[01:20:24.115]Look out world, here we come.
[01:20:27.078](audience applauds)
[01:21:01.714]Thank you Chancellor Green.
[01:21:05.781]Now I know Ronnie really well
[01:21:08.363]and I can tell you that despite
[01:21:10.880]all of his professional accomplishments,
[01:21:13.697]I know that he is most proud of his family,
[01:21:16.372]including the fact that they are earning
[01:21:18.091]degree upon degree upon degree
[01:21:21.559]from the University of Nebraska.
[01:21:23.482]Now please welcome Kelli Green,
[01:21:25.352]a daughter of Ronnie and Jane Green, to sing
[01:21:27.936]May I Suggest, accompanied by Dr. Ann Chang,
[01:21:32.158]Associate Professor of the Glenn Korff School of Music
[01:21:35.467]and the Artistic Director of the Lied Center.
[01:21:40.920](audience applauds)
[01:21:58.628]♫ May I suggest
[01:22:03.545]♫ May I suggest to you
[01:22:07.569]♫ May I suggest
[01:22:09.419]♫ This is the best part of your life
[01:22:16.284]♫ May I suggest
[01:22:19.871]♫ This time is blessed for you, this time
[01:22:24.966]♫ Is blessed and shining almost blinding bright
[01:22:31.408]♫ Just turn your head
[01:22:34.606]♫ And you'll begin to see
[01:22:37.835]♫ The thousand reasons
[01:22:39.670]♫ That were just beyond your sight
[01:22:44.536]♫ The reasons why
[01:22:47.825]♫ Why I suggest to you
[01:22:51.758]♫ Why I suggest
[01:22:53.876]♫ This is the best part of your life
[01:23:11.222]♫ There is a world
[01:23:14.341]♫ That's been addressed to you
[01:23:18.972]♫ Addressed to you
[01:23:20.692]♫ Intended only for your eyes
[01:23:25.572]♫ It's a secret world
[01:23:28.649]♫ Like a treasure chest to you
[01:23:32.590]♫ Of private scenes
[01:23:34.549]♫ And brilliant dreams that mesmerize
[01:23:39.931]♫ A tender lover's smile
[01:23:43.949]♫ A tiny baby's hands
[01:23:47.512]♫ The million stars that fill
[01:23:50.630]♫ The turning sky at night
[01:23:55.582]♫ And I suggest
[01:24:00.033]♫ Oh, I suggest to you
[01:24:03.906]♫ Yes, I suggest
[01:24:06.145]♫ This is the best part of your life
[01:24:24.419]♫ There is a hope
[01:24:28.349]♫ That's been expressed in you
[01:24:32.159]♫ It's the hope of seven generations
[01:24:36.190]♫ Maybe more
[01:24:38.910]♫ And this is the faith
[01:24:42.106]♫ That they invest in you
[01:24:45.951]♫ Is that you'll do one better
[01:24:48.327]♫ Than was done before
[01:24:52.619]♫ And inside you know
[01:24:56.348]♫ Inside you understand
[01:25:00.100]♫ Inside you know
[01:25:01.927]♫ What's yours to finally set right
[01:25:08.004]♫ And I suggest
[01:25:11.982]♫ Oh, I suggest to you, yes, I
[01:25:17.596]♫ I suggest this is the best part of your life
[01:25:36.166]♫ This is a song
[01:25:39.856]♫ Comes from the west to you, comes from
[01:25:45.202]♫ The west, comes from the slowly setting sun
[01:25:50.997]♫ This is a song
[01:25:55.510]♫ With a request of you
[01:25:59.816]♫ To see how very short
[01:26:02.933]♫ These endless days will run
[01:26:07.919]♫ And when they're gone
[01:26:12.101]♫ And when the dark descends
[01:26:16.462]♫ Oh, we'd give anything
[01:26:20.397]♫ For one more hour of light
[01:26:35.141]♫ And I suggest
[01:26:38.881]♫ This is the best part of
[01:26:43.645]♫ Your life
[01:26:50.825](audience applauds)
[01:27:09.905]Well, thank you Kelli, beautiful tribute to your dad.
[01:27:13.291]And please now welcome Dr. Joy Castro, Professor of English
[01:27:17.750]and Director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies,
[01:27:20.524]to deliver the benediction.
[01:27:31.241]We're gathered here today in celebration,
[01:27:33.451]happiness, and hope for our shared future.
[01:27:37.023]Public higher education is one of the greatest gifts we have
[01:27:41.380]and one of the greatest gifts we can give,
[01:27:44.292]extending to all people
[01:27:46.221]the sharpened ability to reason,
[01:27:48.203]to research the facts, to argue effectively,
[01:27:52.149]and to use multiple disciplinary lenses
[01:27:54.206]to solve complex problems.
[01:27:56.020]This fortifies them against anyone
[01:27:58.557]who wants to consolidate wealth and power
[01:28:01.576]through brute force or deception or both.
[01:28:05.437]Because people who are well-educated
[01:28:07.997]are not easily fooled and not easily led.
[01:28:12.862]To impart a university education to ordinary people,
[01:28:16.808]a real university education which includes the professions,
[01:28:20.547]the fine and performing arts, and the liberal arts, that is,
[01:28:23.924]the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities,
[01:28:27.673]is to immunize them against exploitation.
[01:28:31.676]For the university is a place where we ask and answer
[01:28:35.062]not only immediately pragmatic questions
[01:28:37.849]like what is profitable and what's politically expedient,
[01:28:42.205]but also the big long-term ones.
[01:28:44.966]What is valuable?
[01:28:46.576]What is wise?
[01:28:48.166]What is good?
[01:28:49.711]And what is just?
[01:28:51.780]And because we are a public land-grant institution,
[01:28:55.170]we ask these questions on behalf of all Nebraskans
[01:28:58.355]and all those who come to us
[01:28:59.958]from other states and other shores.
[01:29:03.213]We commit to the untrammeled intellectual exchange
[01:29:06.508]among all peoples of the world
[01:29:09.028]and to protecting their freedom to study and learn with us.
[01:29:14.157]We commit to expanding access to higher education
[01:29:17.961]and to transforming our campus,
[01:29:19.863]our curriculum, and our pedagogy
[01:29:21.879]so that every student who comes to us
[01:29:24.351]from no matter what background
[01:29:26.111]and facing no matter what challenges
[01:29:28.428]will feel welcomed, affirmed, included, and seen.
[01:29:34.743]I was asked to speak today
[01:29:35.802]as a representative of the faculty, an impossible charge
[01:29:39.009]given the diversity of views and values that we hold.
[01:29:42.851]But what I can say with certainty is that professors are,
[01:29:46.293]by definition, highly educated people,
[01:29:48.944]and as such, we are not easily fooled
[01:29:52.367]and we are not easily led.
[01:29:55.472](audience laughs and applauds)
[01:30:02.900]Yet to a woman and man,
[01:30:06.158]every colleague with whom I've talked about Ronnie Green
[01:30:08.572]has praised him,
[01:30:10.096]his sharp grasp of the big picture,
[01:30:12.480]the national higher ed landscape,
[01:30:14.334]as well as the political landscape we all must navigate,
[01:30:17.618]his sense of proportion and priorities,
[01:30:20.956]his mix of clear-eyed realism and ambitious dreams,
[01:30:25.314]and his knockout ability to talk for an hour
[01:30:27.852]without notes and get it all right.
[01:30:29.855](audience laughs)
[01:30:30.809]Maybe we're especially impressed by that as professors
[01:30:33.273]because we know how hard it is.
[01:30:36.086]But for me, above all, stand his desire to listen
[01:30:40.420]and his capacity to hear, really deeply hear,
[01:30:44.550]what people different from himself are saying.
[01:30:47.957]In a very brief span of time,
[01:30:49.565]Ronnie Green has earned our confidence,
[01:30:52.947]has come to feel like a leader not in name only,
[01:30:56.554]but in every genuine sense of the word.
[01:31:01.211]Leaders need backup.
[01:31:03.135]If they are continually to act
[01:31:04.806]with courage, boldness, and long-term vision,
[01:31:08.526]they need to know that the people they're leading
[01:31:10.341]can handle the risk of that,
[01:31:12.601]can support and trust them in that.
[01:31:15.501]They need to know that we too
[01:31:17.505]are willing to be practical, gallant, and brave.
[01:31:23.638]These are challenging times for public higher education
[01:31:26.785]and for the State of Nebraska.
[01:31:29.376]The arts, the humanities, and the sciences
[01:31:32.440]are under explicit threat
[01:31:34.614]as are our natural resources,
[01:31:36.886]which are particularly important to us here
[01:31:39.095]with our legacy of rich land and pristine water.
[01:31:43.749]Leading the University of Nebraska
[01:31:45.517]will require unusual vision and courage,
[01:31:49.188]but it's safe to say that Ronnie Green
[01:31:52.159]is a man not easily fooled and not easily led.
[01:31:57.053]As Chancellor, he has begun already to demonstrate
[01:32:00.907]his extraordinary capacity to lead us well.
[01:32:04.602]We have every faith
[01:32:06.672]that he will, thank you.
[01:32:09.205](audience applauds)
[01:32:25.868]As the installation of Chancellor Green comes to a close,
[01:32:29.963]I would ask the audience to please remain seated
[01:32:32.336]until the recessional has been completed
[01:32:34.764]and Dr. Green's family has been escorted from the hall
[01:32:37.883]by the university marshals.
[01:32:40.321]Everyone is welcome to join Ronnie and his family
[01:32:42.676]at the Sheldon Museum of Art for a cookie reception
[01:32:45.846]to celebrate this monumentous occasion.
[01:32:50.077]Marshals, please begin the recessional.
[01:32:55.610](elegant music)

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

The Installation of Ronnie Green

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments