"Heart to Heart" Podcast Series with President Gold highlights Aksarben Foundation, economic and workforce development efforts
December 8, 2025
The University of Nebraska System has released the latest episode of its "Heart to Heart" podcast series, featuring Mike Cassling, chairman of the Aksarben Foundation Board of Directors. The series, hosted by President Jeff Gold, features conversations with faculty, staff, students and alumni to get to the heart of how the University of Nebraska makes a difference in everyday lives.
On the episode, Dr. Gold and Cassling discuss the Aksarben Foundation’s recently released workforce development study, his organization’s role in shaping Nebraska’s future and how the university and organizations like the Aksarben Foundation can work together to keep our state strong.
An Omaha native, University of Nebraska–Lincoln graduate and nationally respected business leader, Cassling has been involved in economic and workforce development for decades. During his time with the Aksarben Foundation, he became interested in a study started and funded by Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development to measure the state of Nebraska’s workforce beginning with Omaha and Lincoln.
“The reality is Omaha and Lincoln is not growing—we've only had moderate growth, Cassling said. “We’ve also had more and more companies move managers and jobs to other states, which doesn't leave opportunities for quality jobs for our kids coming out of the University of Nebraska.”
The study has since expanded to study all 93 Nebraska counties. Cassling noted that the lack of growth and jobs leaving the state have directly impacted Nebraska families in all corners of our state:
“The reality is our families are struggling because wages have not kept up with inflation—and discretionary income in all 93 counties is going down, which is a huge concern,” he said. “This isn't an Omaha issue or a Lincoln issue—this is Nebraska issue.”
Through the support of Aksarben Foundation donors and programs, Cassling and his team are working to turn the tide and empower Nebraska leaders to invest resources in efforts to grow the state’s economy and improve quality of life for all.
“We're working to educate business leaders, senators, mayors, county commissioners and others across the state about the situation make sure they understand this is a statewide problem that we need to fix,” he said.
Cassling also noted that the University of Nebraska is a critical partner to the state in creating jobs, educating the future workforce and ensuring that workforce is retained.
“The university plays a pivotal role as we fix this problem,” he said. “We need to be a magnet for workforce development and create the experiential learning and internships that bind young women and men into careers here in the state of Nebraska.”
Dr. Gold echoed the importance of statewide collaboration with organizations like the Aksarben Foundation:
“The university is a very willing partner,” he said. “We need to do it for the state that we love, and we're all in it together.”
New episodes of “Heart to Heart” are released monthly and feature faculty, staff, students and alumni from across the university’s four campuses. Topics will include athletics, counterterrorism, student success, healthcare, K-12 education and many others.
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.