Op-Ed: NU challenges build strength; vision builds the future

By Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.

Throughout 2025, I have heard from many faculty, staff, alumni and Nebraskans across the state about their university.

They have expressed pride and aspirations for the future, stories of success and remarkable achievement, as well as their continued concerns about year after year of budget reductions and what they might mean for the future of our institution.

Our university’s incredible achievements deserve celebration, just as the heartfelt and legitimate concerns raised should matter to all. The reductions faced across our campuses year after year are undeniably part of our story. But they are only part of our story of progress and growth, our odyssey.

Fiscal challenges, especially those that dominate headlines, can easily overshadow the extraordinary hard work and remarkable achievements in our classrooms, research labs, clinics, farms, turf and hardwood happening every day across our university.

While the passion with which the university family has responded to these budget reductions speaks volumes about our collective and profound sense of loss, it also speaks clearly to their deep commitment to Nebraska’s university. That passion reflects an enduring truth: We have so much to be proud of as we face these challenges, and we have even more to look forward to as together we move ahead.

We can be proud of our successful work toward joint accreditation of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which was affirmed by the Higher Learning Commission and approved by our NU Board of Regents.

This joint accreditation brings us into alignment with our peers, strengthens our rankings and reputation, allows us to convey a more complete and compelling picture of our collective research and student success, and spurs new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. I have no doubt that this step will define our future.

Innovation is flourishing on our campuses. At UNL, our entrepreneurship programs recently climbed seven spots to No. 35 globally in the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine rankings, remaining the highest-ranked in Nebraska and No. 10 in the Midwest. This reflects the impact of cross-campus collaboration and hands-on experiences that empower our faculty and students to lead boldly in every field.

The university’s strength and momentum are evident across UNMC as well, where lifesaving work is underway every day. Earlier this year, Nebraska Medicine and UNMC led a first-of-its-kind clinical trial to treat multiple sclerosis — an approach that targets the immune cells driving MS. The first patient in the world to receive this therapy, a native Nebraskan, was treated successfully.

This pioneering work demonstrates Nebraska’s leadership in research with the potential to transform lives around the world.

Add to this the growing strength across all our campuses in advanced artificial intelligence, our essential role in building the future workforce, and the more than $6.4-billion economic impact we generate annually.

These accomplishments and many others underscore our continued ability to relentlessly look to the future, while remaining relevant in the moment we are in. The challenges we’ve faced and how we’ve responded reveal important strengths as well: As hard as both may be, careful fiscal management and the courage to confront existential challenges are defining traits of top-tier universities.

We stand at a pivotal moment. The University of Nebraska is an engine of progress in our state. Therefore we must have adequate support to keep running, to support the critical current and future needs of our state. As we look to the new year and a new legislative session, I hope our careful stewardship is matched with strategic long-term investment in our future.

The people of Nebraska need their university to thrive. With 150 years of excellence behind us, a reliable and growing ten-fold economic return on investment — and an extraordinary horizon ahead — we must stay focused, united and unwavering in our pursuit of what we know we can become and the future that we will build together.