By Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.
President, University of Nebraska System
Nebraska's greatest opportunities rarely fit within the boundaries of a single discipline or institution. Preparing the next generation of professionals, improving health, strengthening agriculture and growing the state's economy all require groups with a wide spectrum of expertise working toward a shared goal.
That is the promise behind the new joint accreditation of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The change creates a combined accreditation and external reporting structure for the two campuses, allowing their collective strength to be represented more fully and opening new pathways for education and research. It also brings UNL and UNMC closer to the structure they shared until 1968 and aligns Nebraska with many of its Big Ten and national peers.
Joint accreditation may sound like a technical matter. In practice, it gives Nebraska a stronger platform from which to serve students, attract talented faculty and staff, compete for investments and partnerships and address the state's most complex challenges.
It is also important to be clear about what joint accreditation does not mean. Joint accreditation is not about making the two campuses identical; it is about making it easier for their complementary strengths to connect.
For students, those connections could lead to broader educational opportunities, including interdisciplinary learning and potential joint academic programs that link the breadth of a comprehensive land-grant university with the expertise of Nebraska's only public academic health science center.
The change also enables the University of Nebraska to tell a more accurate national story. Enrollment, degrees awarded, faculty honors and research expenditures can now be reported together for key federal and national measures. That combined picture better reflects the scale of Nebraska's impact and can strengthen the university's ability to recruit students and employees, pursue competitive grants and awards and build partnerships with government, industry and communities.
Research is an important part of that story. Based on the most recent federal data cited when joint accreditation was announced, UNL ranked 87th nationally in total research expenditures and UNMC ranked 131st. Reported together, they rank 55th.
That visibility matters, but the greater value lies in the work behind the numbers: connecting people and expertise to achieve outcomes neither campus could reach as effectively alone.
We can already see what that looks like. Through the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases, researchers at both campuses collaborate on multidisciplinary work involving obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Another collaboration supported by the Nebraska Corn Board connects UNL expertise in plant genetics, breeding, nutrition and food science with clinical research at UNMC to explore whether specially developed corn-based foods can help address inflammatory bowel disease. From the field to the clinic, Nebraska expertise is being organized around human needs.
The same collaborative spirit extends well beyond the laboratory. It strengthens how we educate students, support communities, develop Nebraska's workforce and carry out the university's land-grant mission. It also helps faculty, staff and students find partners across campuses more readily and turn good ideas into shared action.
Joint accreditation gives Nebraska an opportunity to preserve what is distinctive about UNL and UNMC while drawing more powerfully on what they can accomplish together. If we approach this moment with a clear focus on the people we serve, the result will be more opportunities for students, a stronger national position and a university better equipped to improve lives across Nebraska and beyond.