UNK Students, Faculty and Staff:
I hope you are having a wonderful fall semester. I’m pleased to share with you today that we are moving forward with our national search for the next chancellor of UNK.
This morning I met with the distinguished search committee to give them their charge of identifying an extraordinary individual to lead UNK into its next chapter. We have a tall order in front of us: Chancellor Kristensen, together with all of you, built remarkable momentum during his 22 years in the role, and Interim Chancellor Bicak has led us forward without missing a beat. Yet I have every confidence we will attract an outstanding pool of candidates who recognize the great leadership opportunity in Kearney and the potential for us to do even more to serve students and rural Nebraska.
I am pleased that Dr. David Jackson, interim executive vice president and provost for the University of Nebraska, will chair the search going forward. And I am particularly grateful that in addition to the original search committee appointed earlier this spring, the three chancellors of the other University of Nebraska campuses have all agreed to serve on the committee – an important signal that our senior leadership operates as one team.
Assisted by the executive search firm CarterBaldwin, Dr. Jackson and the search committee will soon convene public listening sessions that will give you an opportunity to share your thoughts on what qualities and skills we should look for in the next chancellor. We will convene those sessions this fall and will communicate details as soon as they are finalized. Using input from the listening sessions, the committee will then help us develop a job description and nominate and vet candidates.
This is a critical search for UNK and the entire University of Nebraska, and your feedback will be invaluable to our success. I look forward to hearing your ideas on the opportunities ahead for UNK and our next leader. It’s a great time to be a Loper – a credit to the work you do every day to serve students and Nebraska.
Thank you for all you do for our University, and I will see you on campus again soon.
Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.
President, University of Nebraska System