Good morning, members of the Board of Regents, colleagues, and guests. As always, it is a privilege to address this board, and everyone who has joined us today.
I’d like to begin today by recognizing and expressing my sincere appreciation for individuals whose service and leadership continue to move this university forward.
Each year we have incredible student regents who offer their time, their attention, and their expertise to this governing board. This year’s group is exceptional, and I’d like to begin by formally thanking Regent Schroeder, Regent Wilkins, Regent Calamari and Regent Leisy for their work this year and their support of your university. Good luck to each of you as you enter your next chapter.
I’d like to also recognize two exceptional leaders whose permanent positions will be formally taken up by the board today. Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, and Dr. David Jackson have served our university as faculty, as campus leaders, and now, as systemwide leaders.
Dr. Jackson began his work at the University 36 years ago, in 1989. His journey began with UNL’s Department of Food Science and Technology, where he started his career here as a cereal chemist. In the years since, he has held research, teaching and extension appointments, and he has held a number of leadership roles, including interim head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, associate dean of the Agricultural Research Division, interim provost, and today, pending board approval, our system provost.
Dr. Heng-Moss began her time with our University 25 years ago, in 2001. An entomologist by training, she, too, has held research and teaching appointments and has served as associate, interim and finally permanent dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Since June 1, she has served as interim vice president and vice chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Both have cultivated deep relationships across the agricultural and natural resources sectors, including key partnerships with the Ag Builders of Nebraska, Ag 40, Nebraska Cattlemen and other important groups supporting the agricultural economy of Nebraska.
Last month, in Kearney, we celebrated another university leader with the investiture of Dr. Neal Schnoor as chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Since his selection as UNK chancellor, Dr. Schnoor has demonstrated an incredible commitment to the Kearney campus, the surrounding community, and the entire region that UNK serves. His investiture represents a new era of vibrancy for UNK, one with fresh vision, new opportunities and broad impact. Chancellor Schnoor, let me again say congratulations, and thank you for the energy, commitment and vision you bring to this role.
I’d like to extend my thanks to General Rick Evans, who leads the National Strategic Research Institution – an increasingly important partner in promoting national security. As Gen. Evans shared in his remarks, NSRI is a trusted partner with the Department of War, and was recently identified as a preferred contractor, which can now receive up to $500 million in federal contracts. This speaks to the quality of NSRI’s previous work, to which faculty from across the university have significantly contributed. Thank you, Gen. Evans, and congratulations on this honor.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Governor’s office team, our state legislators and their staff. We have worked hard with them through a series of very difficult decisions during this legislative session. Although we did lose critically important millions of dollars of biomedical research funding that primes the engine for tens of millions of sustained federal extramural grants and contracts, we were able to preserve our mainline state biennial budget and will hopefully be able to restore these lost funds and other critical aspects of state funding in the future.
Today our board will consider major renovations to UNL’s Memorial Stadium. Memorial Stadium is iconic in Nebraska and in all of college athletics, and this project, which we are calling Big Red Rebuild, is ambitious and strategic. Big Red Rebuild is a fan-driven, once-in-a-multigeneration investment that modernizes Memorial Stadium while preserving its legacy—ensuring it remains a premier destination for college athletics and year-round events, like tomorrow’s Zach Bryan concert. This project also has the intended goals to strengthen Nebraska’s ability to attract students, compete at the highest level, and generate even more significant economic impact across the state. I want to emphasize that Big Red Rebuild, as on the agenda later today, will deliver these long-term benefits without relying on taxpayer- or tuition-generated dollars and will serve to better support key aspects of our UNL athletic programs in an increasingly competitive time.
The board will consider other important projects, too, including renovations of the Student Activity and Success Center at the Nebraska College for Technical Agriculture in Curtis, and to Elephant Hall at Morrill Hall on the UNL City campus.
Both of these are important spaces on our campuses—places where students gather, where learning extends beyond the classroom, and where community is built. Ensuring these spaces remain vibrant and functional is critical to maintaining the shared experiences that define our university.
The board will also consider a new project – a new Infectious Diseases Air Transport Training facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the first of its kind in the nation. This completely federally funded facility on the UNMC campus will support specialized training for safely transporting and caring for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases. It builds on UNMC’s national leadership in this area of National Security and its long-standing partnerships with the U.S. Department of War and other federal agencies. I would like to thank Col. Elizabeth Schnaubelt who leads the Air Force C-STARS Omaha program at UNMC, for her vision in helping to establish the proposed Infectious Diseases Air Transport program, as well as for her service to our country.
These facilities are an important part of who we are—and what we can be—as a University. But even the best facilities don’t define a university or drive impact; the people and the programs behind them do that. So, as I end my remarks, I’d like to highlight a few updates of our campus programs:
Earlier this month, we hosted Secretary Linda McMahon of the U.S. Department of Education here in Lincoln. During this visit to our campus Governor Pillen signed a proclamation celebrating the long awaited and historic combined accreditation of UNL and UNMC, a major step forward for our University System, all of Nebraska and even more so for our current and future faculty, staff and students. It is truly a historic and transformational time for our university system. Thanks to our Regents, faculty, staff and students who participated in this process, the Higher Learning Commission, the Department of Education team and particularly to Dr. David Jackson for helping to accomplish this transition.
At UNMC, a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education is expanding nutrition education nationally within the medical curriculum—an important step in preparing future physicians to better address disease prevention and long-term health through evidence-based care. I recently had the honor to travel to our nation’s capital to provide keynote remarks with the Secretaries of these two U.S. Cabinet Departments to announce the implementation of this nationwide project. At that time, this new curriculum was adopted by more than 50 U.S. medical schools, with numbers rising every day.
Nebraska Extension and UNMC’s Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center are now working together to expand access to cancer screening across the state. Through the “Brake for Breakfast” initiative, which is taking place this morning, communities from Omaha and Kearney to Scottsbluff and North Platte are hosting convenient, drive-thru events where Nebraskans can receive free resources, education, and encouragement to stay up to date on lifesaving cancer screenings—particularly relevant in rural and underserved areas.
You may not know that the University of Nebraska Extension, the Nebraska Forest Service, and UNMC’s College of Public Health have been instrumental in responding to the recent wildfires that impacted communities, farms and ranches throughout Nebraska. Their teams provided—and continue to provide— critical coordination, trusted information, and on-the-ground support during a very difficult time, working alongside volunteer fire departments, the National Guard, and many other state and federal partners. We are also proud that the proceeds from the Husker Spring Football Scrimmage were directed toward fire relief efforts, reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nebraskans as they recover and rebuild.
And how about our student athletes in the Winter and Spring sports? It was another remarkable season of both athletic competition and academic success. I had the privilege to cheer on our Husker athletes in Durham, Oklahoma City and Houston as well more recently at Haymarket Park—all exciting, memorable games, and all examples of incredible teamwork and leadership.And at the same time, I have the privilege of actively serving with a small number of key national leaders on the President’s Roundtable to Save College Sports, a national working group to accelerate development of policy guardrails in the new era of NIL supported college athletics, in a sense, to keep the student portion of being a student athlete balanced and sustainable.
Finally, next week, the University of Nebraska, along with the National Council on Competitiveness, which is a leading nonpartisan economic development coalition of top business and educational leaders now celebrating its 40th year of driving U.S. economic prosperity, will host a Competitiveness Conversation in Omaha centered on the bioeconomy. This event will bring together hundreds of national and international leaders from industry, government, and academia to discuss how the United States can accelerate and truly lead in a sector expected to shape the future of food, energy, clothing, construction and medicine, one that is expected to rapidly grow into a $30 trillion global market. To get a better sense of why it is such an honor to host this event in Omaha, please join me in watching this brief video.
Members of the Board of Regents and guests, updates such as these reflect the momentum we are building every day across the university—an ongoing odyssey, built upon strong foundations of excellence, toward the truly extraordinary. At the same time, we are well aware and highly responsive to the ever-changing higher education and healthcare landscapes, all of which are replete with both challenges and opportunities on the local, national and global levels. With the depth of expertise across our campuses, the strength of our partnerships, and the resources we continue to align around our mission, we are continuing to shape our University’s future in meaningful ways as well as for Nebraska and beyond.
Thank you again for your time, your leadership, and your commitment to our university. It is truly an honor to serve alongside our talented leadership team.