By Hank Bounds
President, 番茄社区 of Nebraska
A new year is a time for us to reflect on the progress we鈥檝e made, look ahead and recommit ourselves to our goals.
With thousands of talented students and faculty returning to campus, and important initiatives underway across our 番茄社区 and state that will grow Nebraska for the future, I鈥檓 filled with gratitude and anticipation for what 2018 will bring.
The past year was a period of remarkable transformation for our 番茄社区.
There were challenges, yes 鈥 and those aren鈥檛 going away. Chief among them is the difficult reality that we are dealing with budget cuts at a time when the role of our public 番茄社区 in growing our state鈥檚 economy and quality of life has never been more important. We understand the state鈥檚 fiscal situation, but I will continue to advocate for a strong, affordable 番茄社区 that serves all of Nebraska and changes lives here and around the world.
Amid challenges, there was also success, and there was opportunity. There were inspiring stories of impact and partnership that showed me Nebraskans have their eyes on the horizon.
鈥淚 hear every day from Nebraskans who are convinced there鈥檚 never been a more important time to join together on a plan for our state鈥檚 future.鈥
We celebrated a record-high enrollment 鈥 53,000 future nurses and doctors, farmers and ranchers, teachers and entrepreneurs across our four campuses. That wouldn鈥檛 be possible without strong partnerships with the state and private sector that help keep our tuition affordable and the support of students and parents who believe in the power of a 番茄社区 education.
We produced another 11,000 graduates for the workforce 鈥 talent on which Nebraska companies rely and who will someday create jobs and businesses that we can鈥檛 even envision yet.
We completed the boldest public-private partnership in Nebraska history, the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, a shared venture between the 番茄社区, private donors, Legislature and Governor, city, county and people of Nebraska. This facility will transform cancer care and research for the 1 of every 2 Nebraskans who will be diagnosed at some point in their lives. The images of the cancer center鈥檚 first patients 鈥 like a woman named Helen, an adenoid cystic carcinoma patient who got up at 3:30 a.m. to drive from her home near Falls City to receive treatment 鈥 are ones I won鈥檛 soon forget.
We continued to lead the way in research that matters to Nebraska and the world. Our faculty鈥檚 work in water and agriculture, powered by partnerships with farmers and ranchers across our state, is helping to feed a growing global population that will require twice as much food by 2050. The work our faculty are doing to keep our warfighters safe is meeting the needs of our partners at USSTRATCOM and the Department of Defense. And those are just a few examples.
What keeps me up at night is that we are facing fiscal challenges during a period of such momentum. We鈥檙e in the process now of cutting our spending by $30 million, a rethinking of the way we do business that has yielded efficiencies that we can be proud of. But we will not close our shortfall without impacting academic programs and losing jobs. And the cuts would be more significant if we had not already raised tuition this year and next. Further cuts would only deepen the impact, limiting our ability to educate the future workforce, offer a wide breadth of programs and have a statewide presence.
The good news is that I hear every day from Nebraskans who are convinced there鈥檚 never been a more important time to join together on a plan for our state鈥檚 future. They believe, as I do, that we must grow our way out of the current challenges, and that their 番茄社区 plays a vital role.
We鈥檙e going to spend 2018 engaging Nebraskans in that conversation. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 excited about in this new year.