Beginning the year with our eyes on the future.
Dear Colleagues,
Every day I see the passion, dedication, and hard work you bring to our collective enterprise of advancing excellence and innovation in higher education. You are the heart of this flagship, land-grant, Big Ten research university. UNL students flourish because of your care and intentional commitment to their success. Our year-over-year successes in student achievement, research excellence, and extensive economic impact are because of your steady power of teamwork and collaboration. Communities and families across Nebraska and beyond are better because of your contributions to education, research, extension, and public engagement.
As we begin this new academic year with the various challenges facing higher education today – economic, political, and moral – it may feel especially difficult to envision and plan for a future that seems so uncertain. We are in a critical moment of opportunity that calls for clear-eyed and value-centered leadership from everyone who is committed to the future of UNL as a primary engine for discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Nebraska.
This is a future that must be characterized by being student and learner centered within a rapidly evolving global economic landscape; we must remain relentless in our focus on research and creative excellence grounded in both fundamental discovery and meeting the multi-faceted challenges of our times; and we can serve as the very paradigm of a modern land-grant institution through our commitment to co–create more prosperous, healthy, and sustainable communities for everyone.
By listening and learning from each other, remaining committed to the spirit of every person and every interaction matters, I am confident that our shared response to this moment will not only shape our future but define a future that we can all be proud to be a part of.
At UNL, student, staff, faculty, and alumni voices matter. I encourage you to be an active and thoughtful contributor in shaping the present and future of your university and the wider public good we exist to serve.
I wish you a successful start to the new year.
Mark E. Button, Ph.D.
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor
and Chief Academic Officer
EVC Office