Regent Paul Kenney becomes Board of Regents chair for 2021; Bob Phares elected vice chair
February 12, 2021
Regent Paul Kenney of Amherst, representing District 6 on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, today assumed the role of chair of the Board for 2021 after serving as vice chair in 2020.
Regent Bob Phares of North Platte, representing District 7, was elected vice chair of the Board. He will become chair in 2022 in accordance with Board policy.
Kenney is an agri-businessman, farmer and rancher whose operation has been in his family for more than 100 years. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied agricultural economics. He has served on the Amherst Public Schools board, is a former president of the Kearney Area Ag Producers Alliance, and is a past board member of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce. He also was president of the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute and has been honored as Farmer of the Year by the Kearney Kiwanis service club.
Kenney and his wife, Angie, have four sons and six grandchildren.
Phares is president and owner of Phares Financial Services Inc., a financial planning and services firm in North Platte. He was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2006, elected in 2010 and served as chairman in 2010 and 2015.
About the University of Nebraska
The University of Nebraska is the state’s only public university system, made up of four campuses – UNL, UNO, UNK and UNMC – each with a distinct role and mission. Together the campuses enroll nearly 50,000 students and employ 16,000 faculty and staff who serve the state, nation and world through education, research and outreach. For more information and news from the University of Nebraska, visit nebraska.edu/news.