President Hank Bounds announces winners of Twitter listening tour

University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds announced today that he has selected two Nebraskans to join him for in-person conversations following a digital “listening tour” in which he answered dozens of questions on Twitter over two and half weeks about issues important to the university and higher education.

Joining Bounds in his Memorial Stadium skybox for the Oct. 24 Huskers-Northwestern football game are:

• Josh Allen (@j_allen), of Papillion, president of the Nebraska Educational Technology Association, a 2,500-member grassroots organization that promotes the use of technology in education. Among other questions, Allen engaged with Bounds about technology in the classroom, NU’s efforts to prepare the next generation of K-12 teachers, and opportunities the university has to partner with other organizations to provide outstanding graduates for Nebraska – key strategic priorities for NU.
• Patrick Davlin (@pdavasaurusrex), a junior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who is pursuing a computer engineering degree in the Peter Kiewit Institute. Davlin, who is also involved in student government at UNO, asked Bounds about UNO’s contributions to the entire University of Nebraska in the years ahead and opportunities for increased collaboration between the four NU campuses. Bounds has identified increasing cross-campus collaboration to enhance the university’s service to Nebraskans and the world as a primary focus moving forward.

Allen and Davlin were selected from among all the Nebraskans who engaged with Bounds online about topics as varied as affordability, outreach to first-generation students, research, the university’s role in advancing 21st-century agriculture, efforts to provide students with a global education, opportunities to increase lifelong learning and alumni engagement, creating a smoother path for transfer students, the UNL chancellor search, recruitment of out-of-state and international students, and many others.

In all, Nebraskans asked Bounds about 50 questions during the “Nebraska Talks” Twitter listening tour, which launched Sept. 14 and ended Sept. 30. Bounds provided real-time answers to questions from his personal Twitter account, @hankbounds.

“I’m very pleased with the thoughtfulness and depth of questions I received from Nebraskans over the past few weeks. This social media listening tour confirmed for me how much Nebraskans care about their university and how invested they are in our success,” Bounds said. “I hope this tour helped people learn more about what the University of Nebraska is doing to serve the state. I know I certainly got some good ideas. I look forward to continuing to listen and learn from Nebraskans in the weeks and months ahead.”

The “Nebraska Talks” tour was a continuation of the engagement with Nebraskans that Bounds began at the outset of his presidency in April. Bounds, a Mississippi native, spent his first week on the job on a 1,500-mile statewide tour that included stops in 20 communities and allowed him to get to know Nebraska and its people. He has since visited additional Nebraska communities and continued to meet with a diverse range of university constituents as he forms his leadership agenda.

Nebraskans can review the dialogue generated by the “Nebraska Talks” tour by searching the #PrezUnplugged hashtag on Twitter.

Allen said, “I think it’s important for the university to think about how it can work with outside organizations to maximize its impact. Conversation is the first step in that process. I’m impressed by how President Bounds reached out to Nebraskans to explore new ideas and I’m excited to talk with him in person about the topics I’m passionate about.”

Davlin said, “The Twitter listening tour was a great opportunity for President Bounds to connect directly with students, something that’s incredibly meaningful for us. I appreciate that he listened to students’ ideas and I’m looking forward to continuing our conversation about things that I and many other University of Nebraska students are interested in.”