By Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.
President, University of Nebraska System
Over the past 10 years, and especially the past 13 weeks, I've had the opportunity to meet with Nebraskans in every corner of our state to listen and learn about their hopes for the University of Nebraska's next chapter.
I have talked with students and parents, alumni and friends, elected officials and business leaders, farmers and ranchers, Nebraskans in rural and urban communities. I've been to each end of our 500-mile campus Falls City to Scottsbluff and many stops in between.
In these countless conversations, there is a common thread.
Nebraskans are proud of our 155-year legacy of excellence in providing affordable access to high quality education, conducting world class research and competing on the playing field.
And they are ready for us to aim higher.
It is this call to action that formed the basis of my message to Nebraskans as I had the privilege of being installed as the ninth president of the University of Nebraska.
From the halls of the State Capitol the peoples' house, a powerful reminder that our university is of, for and by the people I asked Nebraskans to join us on what I'm calling an "odyssey" from excellent to extraordinary.
As I said that day, we have a strong foundation on which to build. Our faculty are known around the world for their leadership in feeding the world, keeping our women and men in uniform safe, treating devastating diseases and ensuring a healthy start for every baby. We have a history of athletics excellence. We offer students a combination of value and quality that can't be beat. And our momentum is evident today with growing enrollment, record setting philanthropic giving and new heights in research funding.
Yet, our greatest mistake would be to say excellent is good enough.
The needs of our state and world are too urgent for us to rest on our laurels. The workforce of the future will need many more highly skilled college graduates to keep Nebraska competitive and growing. The demand to produce more food with less water grows by the day. Too many Nebraskans still face devastating health diagnoses. We are still not as competitive as we need to be in keeping Nebraska's best and brightest young people in our state.
Of course, our competitors are keenly aware of these challenges, and they are adapting and investing as we speak. As I remind our teams, if we are not growing, we're stagnant and that's not acceptable in the face of the most complex landscape and unlimited opportunities higher education has ever known.
Our odyssey starts with a careful assessment of where we are and where we want to go. It involves a review of our peers, not only in higher education but across public and private sectors. It involves listening to every person who has a stake in the university's growth and success which is to say, every Nebraskan.
And, "the best way to predict the future is to create it," as President Abraham Lincoln is often quoted as saying. There's no reason, for example, that Nebraska shouldn't lead the way in preparing for the AI revolution, and I am proud that we have mobilized teams to help us do that. There's no reason we shouldn't aim to have retention and graduation rates of 100% with a commitment to help every student complete their degree.
We all want to see a successful and thriving university that continually sets the bar higher. Together, I know we'll get there. As a Nebraskan by choice, it is the privilege to begin this odyssey with the people of the state I call home.