Women's basketball vs. Maryland

Ronnie Green Author

02/05/2018 Added

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Ronnie Green discusses proposed budget recommendations and the university's important role in supporting growth in talent and economic development for Nebraska.

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[00:00:00.109](rhythmic music)
[00:00:01.130]Welcome back.
[00:00:01.963]In our Huskers Sports Network studio.
[00:00:03.170]This is Greg Sharpe here, halftime in the Huskers'
[00:00:04.880]game with the Maryland Terrapins,
[00:00:06.360]and delighted to be joined by
[00:00:07.510]the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor Ronnie Green.
[00:00:11.474]The University at UNL is certainly
[00:00:12.990]the flagship of the state system,
[00:00:15.620]the land grant university with funding
[00:00:17.150]in large part tied to our state's budget,
[00:00:19.940]and with further cuts proposed to the university budget,
[00:00:22.920]let's talk about those.
[00:00:23.753]What would those potentially mean to university?
[00:00:26.260]Well, you know, Greg, we've always enjoyed a really
[00:00:29.140]strong relationship as the university for the state, right.
[00:00:32.810]So this coming year we'll be 150 years old.
[00:00:35.530]We kinda grew up with the state of Nebraska together,
[00:00:38.660]you know, and it's always been a critical role in the state.
[00:00:41.510]And we've been well-supported by the citizens
[00:00:43.730]and the people of the state of Nebraska
[00:00:45.950]as a public flagship land grant university.
[00:00:50.530]And currently we get at UNL about $260 million, roughly,
[00:00:56.020]a year in funding directly from the state legislature,
[00:01:00.090]which is a significant portion of our budget
[00:01:02.610]and helps us to deliver on our mission every day.
[00:01:06.010]And the state is, it's kinda struggling through
[00:01:08.760]figuring out how to manage its budget
[00:01:11.030]through some down times economically
[00:01:13.840]in the state tax revenues and other challenges
[00:01:16.250]and issues the state are facing.
[00:01:17.800]You know, we have some proposed budget things
[00:01:21.840]that are being discussed in the legislature currently,
[00:01:24.320]that the governor proposed that would further reduce
[00:01:27.030]our budget beyond reductions we already have taken
[00:01:30.410]this last year at a level that we're concerned about,
[00:01:34.150]you know, that would a regression for the university.
[00:01:37.460]It would not be moving us forward.
[00:01:39.160]It'd be moving us backward, definitely
[00:01:41.000]in a way that we think will be harmful to the university.
[00:01:44.580]Regent Howard Hawks, just this past week,
[00:01:48.670]commented on that through some media op-ed pieces
[00:01:53.830]in the Omaha World Herald and across the state,
[00:01:56.810]reflecting what kind of impact of cuts would be.
[00:02:00.520]Those proposals that have been put forth by the governor
[00:02:04.000]and the legislature is now beginning to look into.
[00:02:07.560]You know, even though we're only 13% of the state's budget
[00:02:11.220]at the university, we would make up
[00:02:13.620]over a third of the proposed cuts in the state.
[00:02:17.620]And over the last 20 years, if you look at us,
[00:02:20.770]what our increase in funding in real dollars
[00:02:24.800]has been an increase of 75% while across the state,
[00:02:29.010]those increases have been almost 140%.
[00:02:31.920]So we've been on the shorter end
[00:02:33.990]of that increase, if you will, over time.
[00:02:36.280]So we've been a good partner through difficult times.
[00:02:39.050]We'll be a good partner through difficult times now as well,
[00:02:42.780]in workin' with the state, we just want it to be fair
[00:02:45.780]and moving forward and not regress the university.
[00:02:48.730]You have used the word proposed,
[00:02:50.360]so it's proposed, not final, correct?
[00:02:51.960]Yeah, that's correct.
[00:02:52.793]So the governor in his opening state of the state address
[00:02:55.770]earlier in January at the beginning
[00:02:58.070]of the legislative session outlined
[00:03:00.420]some proposals around how to adjust the budget
[00:03:03.180]for this year and for next year,
[00:03:05.030]the current biennium that we're under.
[00:03:07.020]That budget was adopted by the legislature
[00:03:09.440]last year in their long session.
[00:03:11.620]So they'll be discussing that
[00:03:13.450]through the Appropriations Committee.
[00:03:14.980]We have a hearing coming up with them
[00:03:16.530]here on the 14th of February,
[00:03:18.910]and then they will propose how they recommend
[00:03:22.390]closing the budget gap for the state
[00:03:25.090]to the full legislature during March.
[00:03:27.940]So those are proposed cuts.
[00:03:30.970]We're planning to strongly say this is what
[00:03:33.560]the impact of those cuts will be to the university.
[00:03:37.010]We're beyond, you know, cutting costs
[00:03:39.490]and increasing efficiency of the way we deliver.
[00:03:42.170]We cut, you know, some 22 million out of our budget
[00:03:45.640]for the university doing that already.
[00:03:49.160]And this would mean that we would
[00:03:51.100]have to close some academic programs
[00:03:53.090]and not be able to offer them anymore
[00:03:54.950]to meet that proposal that's out there.
[00:03:57.540]I know you feel like the university
[00:03:58.750]has really good momentum right now
[00:04:00.180]in enrollment, research, obviously athletics,
[00:04:02.160]which we talk about from time to time.
[00:04:03.780]You certainly don't want to lose that at all.
[00:04:05.160]Oh, absolutely.
[00:04:06.230]You know, I met just recently with
[00:04:08.620]all of the administrative leadership of the UNL campus,
[00:04:11.570]all of our department heads and chairs
[00:04:13.210]and deans and directors of programs across the campus.
[00:04:16.630]And we talk about, you know, we're on this upward trend
[00:04:20.120]in enrollment, we're graduating more students
[00:04:22.460]than we've ever graduated before.
[00:04:23.980]We're bringing in more students than we've ever had before.
[00:04:27.150]We're bringing in more students from outside Nebraska
[00:04:29.650]as well as inside Nebraska than we ever have before.
[00:04:33.470]Our research is on up, our engagement
[00:04:35.830]with the state is on the up in all sectors,
[00:04:38.960]and we don't want to lose that momentum
[00:04:42.200]for moving the state forward,
[00:04:44.080]moving economic development in the state forward,
[00:04:46.630]in the graduates and how they're going to contribute
[00:04:49.050]to an economy that's going to require more
[00:04:51.830]and more college graduates in the future
[00:04:54.510]with a state that's going to have more 18-year-olds
[00:04:58.040]over the next 10 years than we've had in the past as well.
[00:05:01.330]So we don't want to lose that momentum.
[00:05:03.890]We'll be a good partner in dealing with
[00:05:05.630]the budget shortfall in the state,
[00:05:07.840]and we're hopeful to move forward
[00:05:09.340]through that with as minimal impact as we can.
[00:05:12.000]Well, thank you for updating us on that topic,
[00:05:14.120]and we'll certainly stay tuned to that.
[00:05:15.820]Good to see you.
[00:05:16.653]Yeah, go Big Red.
[00:05:18.000]Second half action Huskers and Maryland, comin' up next.

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Women's basketball vs. Maryland

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