VOTE411 Voter Guide

The Board is charged with providing strategic leadership, advocating for the advancement of education, research and outreach.

With State support dwindling, it is important to develop other sources of funding to keep tuition affordable. During my time on the Board, we approved Nebraska Promise for students with families making under $60,000.

The Board has approved public and private partnerships allowing the University to expand research and innovation projects beyond the footprint of its budget and providing meaningful opportunities for students. We must also continue to seek efficient, wise use of our current funds by reviewing academic program metrics for viability, intentionally investing back into the students whenever possible.

Academic freedom is critical to the ongoing success of the University. A university must be a place where academic freedom and open dialogue are protected and nurtured. A university which does not meet this standard will fail to attract and retain talent within the state. Additionally, the University is charged with complying with all laws and constitutional protections including the First Amendment rights of students, faculty and administration.

The University balances this need with prohibiting hate speech and threats of violence on campus, as students have a right to feel safe when in class. We offer training on campus and have tiplines available for students. This requires continual review and oversight in real time.

The challenges facing the University mirror that of the state - drain of population to other states, competition for talent, and reduced resources.  The Board can address this by expanding the pool of in- and out-of-state students with competitive tuition, raising graduation completion rates, keeping faculty salaries competitive, continuing to seek private and public partners including donors, and encouraging the aggressive and creative application for federal grants. The University must also review expenses and make prudent use of funds. This will allow it to maintain focus on its key role as an educator, employer, generator of revenue, health care provider and innovative researcher supporting the business, health care and agriculture.

First, by recognizing that a balance between excellence and low cost exists! Often the regents, influenced by overly ambitious administrators, have the mindset of excelling at everything while also promising low costs. My experience in NU teaching, research, and administration uniquely qualifies me to recognize overambition and determine when goals are unrealistic. This is central to creating an NU mission statement that is operative—something currently lacking and badly needed. Only after an operative mission statement is agreed upon can the appropriate “excellence/cost” balance be decided. This rational approach to decision making will be an improvement over the “always be on offense!” sloganeering currently being used by the board.

Freedom of speech is foundational to the university mission, but speech policy is critical as university statements of advocacy do not always age well. So, it’s important that administration fosters (and practices) cultural norms that embrace the free and open study of ideas while abstaining from the partisan advocacy of ideas. Academic inquiry is an open-ended process designed to further understanding, while advocacy is more invested in an outcome. While no campus speech should be banned, regrettable statements can be minimized if policies foster a culture where speech based on academic inquiry is the cultural benchmark and speech that is advocacy based on personal passion is considered less persuasive and therefore not commonly used.

The lack of an operative mission statement. The Coordinating Commision says the NU mission is teaching, research, and service, and the campus statements are similar. This translates to “the mission of NU is to be a university!” which is pointless and nonoperative. As the world changes with ever-increasing speed, the NU system must understand its purpose for existing. Crank out low-cost degrees as efficiently as possible? Be a leader in research? Adjust standards to admit more students regardless of college readiness, or admit fewer to stronger programs? There is no one right answer to these questions—it depends on the regents developing a mission statement that is more than generic platitudes. As a regent, I will be leading that charge.