Regents, colleagues, and members of our university community:
August is always an exciting time for the University of Nebraska, as we prepare to welcome our faculty and students back to our campuses and look forward to our athletic seasons, cultural activities and so much more. Our students are the heart and soul of our institution, and our campuses never feel as vibrant and bustling as they do when students are here learning, discovering, making friends, exploring new interests, debating, studying, starting internships and all the other things that make the college experience on our campuses so special and truly irreplaceable.
To our returning students and faculty: welcome back to the University of Nebraska. And to our newest Lopers, Huskers, Mavericks and Labs: This fall marks the beginning of a transformative chapter in your life. Thank you for choosing to begin your journey with us. Each of us are committed to your success. As I like to say, we don’t just enroll an entering class, we also enroll a future graduating class.
Our students thrive because of the extraordinary work and dedication of our faculty and staff, and it’s an honor to have celebrated some incredible colleagues who joined us earlier today. In addition to the Kudos awards we recognize at each of our meetings, today we also celebrated the winners of the 2025 President’s Excellence Awards, which are the most prestigious awards that the University of Nebraska awards for faculty each year. These individuals and programs represent the very best of our university, illustrated through their dedication, innovation and deep commitment.
I also want to take a moment to recognize and congratulate the exceptional research team at UNMC for their groundbreaking work in advancing treatment for multiple sclerosis. Through a first-of-its-kind clinical trial using allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy—an approach previously used to treat blood cancers—this team is opening new doors for patients facing severe autoimmune disease. One Nebraskan, whose condition had progressed rapidly, became among the first MS patients in the world to receive this innovative therapy. Her story reflects not only the promise of this research but the extraordinary care, expertise and dedication of the team behind it. As is the case with so much of our research, this work has the potential to transform lives here in Nebraska and far beyond.
Throughout the summer, we celebrated others across in our university family.
Not that long ago, Omaha business leader and philanthropist Carl Mammel was awarded with the inaugural Ruth and Bill Scott Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy. This award was established by the University of Nebraska Foundation Board of Directors in November 2024 to recognize those whose legacy of philanthropic support has transformed the University of Nebraska. Mr. Mammel, a graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, has a long history of supporting UNL, UNMC and UNO, including with the largest group of gifts in the history of the Omaha campus. We are very grateful for his support of the University of Nebraska and could not think of a more deserving inaugural recipient of this award.
Sadly, just recently we also celebrated the life of Dr. Phil Smith, a former professor in the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases and medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Dr. Smith passed away last month and leaves a lasting legacy for his work which placed UNMC and Nebraska Medicine at the forefront in the global fight against high-consequence infectious disease. He was also among my most trusted colleagues and a dear friend.
Just last weekend, the university was honored to host U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins and members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center—better known as ENREEC—near Mead. This visit was a chance to showcase the cutting-edge work taking place in the areas of precision and digital ag, in both cropping and livestock systems, as well as to showcase the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center.
We also learned recently that we had the highest ever GPA for all Husker student athletes, a total of 11 academic all Americans, that attendance at our Husker women’s athletic events was number two in the nation last year and that we were 21st in the national Directors Cup rankings, including top ten in five sports and the best we have been ranked in fifteen years. All again remarkable achievements for our students and for our leadership team.
As many here know, just a few weeks ago, as several of you were with me, I spent well over a week with colleagues traveling the state of Nebraska. During this travel, we covered more than 1,500 miles and met with more than 500 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, business leaders and community members at more than 20 stops in 14 communities including Norfolk, Peru, Auburn, Beatrice, Grand Island, Kearney, Curtis, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Alliance, Chadron, and Fremont. All in addition to continuing work with the Nebraska, Lincoln and Omaha chambers, elected officials and community groups.
We visited all of the state colleges, many community colleges, businesses, hospitals, chambers of commerce, university campuses, research sites, extension offices and many others. We had wonderful discussions on current and future collaborations, opportunities and local challenges, needs and wants and so much more.
And in every community and at every stop, I heard loudly and clearly how much the University of Nebraska means to the people of our state. Nebraskans shared with me stories of the doors that a university degree has opened for them and their loved ones. They spoke of life-saving medical care they received through our community medical center expertise and of the practical, science-based information from Nebraska Extension that has helped guide decision making on their farms and ranches for years or even generations. The list of the ways the university has enriched the lives of the people of our state goes on and on.
During those days, I was so proud, over and over, of this university and all it has done and continues to do for the people of Nebraska. Yet at the same time, I was keenly and repetitively made aware of the challenges that impact the way we teach our students, conduct our research and serve our state is in jeopardy. The chorus of voices was strong and consistent, embracing our efforts around clear, sustainable and accountable strategic and tactical planning.
The media has been full of countless stories about changes in our budget. Truthfully, nothing has changed since the meeting we had in June that the Board of Regents passed. The consequences of the gaps that we’ve had from the legislature, from changes in tuition, etc. are exactly as we had predicted what they would be. They continue to roll out. But there is no question that these reductions will change our institution and the work that takes place across all of our campuses. I just want this audience to know—and I want the people of Nebraska to know—that we will always remain laser focused on access, quality and value, focused on strategic growth and focused on the very best ways to serve Nebraska as we methodically and transparently go through this process.
As I cross the state, our campuses and as I go about my day-to-day life, I am asked by our faculty, students and staff, alumni and fans—and most importantly by hardworking Nebraskans in coffee shops, food stores and filling stations—how they can individually help our university through these times. My challenge to them has been to share widely and as many times and in as many ways as possible how the university has enriched their lives, created opportunities and helped build the Nebraska we all know and treasure. That enthusiastic support matters deeply.
But we need more.
We need the strong, sustained support of our state’s elected leaders. We need meaningful investment; because the University of Nebraska is not only a treasured institution, but one of the most powerful tools our state has to grow its economy, build its future workforce and improve the lives of its citizens for generations to come.
Two years ago, when measured, this university generated $6.4 billion in annual economic impact. It educates 1 in 7 working-age Nebraskans. It conducted $696 million of world-class research, drives technological innovation, supports Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers, provides life-saving medical care and prepares the next generation of teachers, nurses, engineers, entrepreneurs and leaders. In every corner of our state, the University of Nebraska is present and making a meaningful and measurable difference, representing in total just under nine percent of the economic gross domestic product of the entire state.
Any other pathway forward, regardless of headwinds we may encounter, will limit our capacity to deliver on this mission. It weakens our competitiveness, slows our momentum and threatens our ability to meet the needs of Nebraska’s people today.
The path forward to a more prosperous Nebraska is clear: We must accelerate and strengthen our strategic vision, the Odyssey to the Extraordinary, and to invest boldly in the University of Nebraska and, in the process, secure a strong and thriving future for our state.
The urban and rural voices of our fellow Nebraskans continually reinforce that all investments in the University of Nebraska are not just investments in higher education. These are investments in the future of the state.
As I reflect on my first year as your university president, I am grateful for the governance by our board, the partnerships with the communities and elected leaders we serve. I am grateful for our talented and dedicated team here in Varner, grateful for our world class faculty and staff and even more so for the families who entrust us every day to help build the future for our most cherished possession, our children. I am every day more grateful and humbled to play a role in service to this critical mission and every day proud to be a Nebraskan.
I thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts.