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Oh, the Beauty of Firsts

Oh, the Beauty of Firsts

by | Aug 26, 2019 | About, Regent Firsts

Oh, the Beauty of Firsts

Amidst the sea of work and the all-enveloping search for the University of Nebraska’s next President, sometimes I forget that I haven’t been a Regent for all that long. Other times, I wonder if I’ll ever stop feeling like the new kid in school.

In one of the few moments I’ve had recently to catch my breath, I found myself reflecting on my first regent moments. I thought about experiences in the early days of my Regent-hood that are as vivid today as they were then.

One of the first regent moments that struck me was how everyone had a business card and it seemed to be a well-practiced ritual to exchange them upon meeting. So naturally I had to get some of my own so I could join in the exchange.

“The first few months were full of fascinating conversations with people who worked in all sorts of different positions throughout the university.”

I couldn’t help being as enthusiastic as they were when they would tell me about the work they’re doing.

For example, there was one guy named Craig who works at the research center in North Platte, and who demonstrated the incredible wind tunnels they use to test liquid dispersion on fields by everything from a tractor to a crop duster. He could hardly contain his excitement when he talked about the research equipment in his labs.

“The only thing he apologized for was his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University. He is a Big Red fan now.”

Another visceral regent moment I had was the first time I wore my academic Regent robe. It was the NCTA graduation, and I kept thinking about the vestige of European roots in academia present in the design construction of these robes. Basically, the robes are designed for men and men’s shirts, so that when female Regents don the hood that’s part and parcel of the whole Regent robe deal, we have to wear a safety pin to keep the hood from creeping up our fronts and choking us. It can be a little distracting.

Despite that, I must admit it made me feel part of a ceremony of great importance, one with the weight of a lot of history behind it.

“It gave me a sense of unity with all the university students.”

Yes, it is easy to get caught up in all the work we have to do today, or everything we’re working toward in the future. Looking forward is a good thing. Being present in the moment, also highly important. But there’s nothing wrong with taking a breather here and there to reflect, enjoy, and have a little perspective on moments gone by.

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

 

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What Keeps Me Up At Night

What Keeps Me Up At Night

by | Aug 21, 2019 | School Uniqueness

What Keeps Me Up At Night

It’s a hard time for higher education across the country. Private and public institutions are suffering from downturns. Resources are increasingly scarce, funding is harder to come by, and everyone is trying to figure out how to survive.

But it’s not enough to survive. For the sake of the school, for the students and faculty, for the whole state – we need to figure out how to thrive. When resources start to get scarce, people start to get nervous and tend to stop being collaborative.

We cannot cave to this sort of paranoia.

More than ever we have to work together. Share ideas. Have the tough conversations. And – importantly – listen to each other. It’s easy to get along when there are plenty of resources and a general sense of abundance. It’s when the belt tightens that it’s difficult to remain as cohesive and cooperative, yet that is also when we need that camaraderie the most.

We have a university made up of four different campuses with very different cultures.

How do we honor those cultures in a way that’s fair for all but still maintains that sense of unified identity that doesn’t distort their individuality? Because at the end of the day we all come together around one school. We are the University of Nebraska.

I’m a night owl, so it’s not difficult to keep me up late. But when I do lie down to get some rest, these are the thoughts that keep running through my head like a song on repeat. How do we come together? Where do we go from here? I don’t know the answer. It’s going to take all of us to find it.

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

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Conversation Goes Both Ways

Conversation Goes Both Ways

by | Aug 12, 2019 | Regent Firsts, School Uniqueness

Conversation Goes Both Ways

If you are reading this it means we are off to a good start. It means we are beginning to develop a channel to inform each other. Okay, yes, I have the benefit of this website and this blog, but I want to make clear that while I share with you the amazing things I am discovering about the University of Nebraska and life as a Regent, I want this to be a two-way street. Your voice, your opinion, your thoughts matter to me. Let’s get to talking!

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a little preoccupied lately with the Presidential Advisory Search Committee. While it is a bit of a mouthful (is it time for an acronym?) it is also affording me the opportunity to learn all sorts of fascinating things.

The variety of people, experience and perspectives is surfacing whole aspects of Regent work for which I am finding a new and deep appreciation.

As usual, I also have a ton of questions.

As we seek feedback from all the different groups both inside and outside the university who have a stake in who becomes our next University of Nebraska President – which is just about everyone, really – we have twenty-three pairs of eyes laser focused on the issue.

There are a lot of qualities we are hoping for in our next President. There’s a real opportunity here to bring something special and necessary to the University of Nebraska and the community at large. Some aspects (like fairness) we can all readily agree on. Some aspects are more complicated, and require a fair amount of conversation, thanks to diverse points of view.

I’ve been grateful for the chance to get to know the different committee members because it has provided a window into the culture and priorities of our different campuses and community members.

Plus, I always relish the opportunity to hear what people outside our system are thinking. There it is, your not-so-subtle hint!

We will be following the public reactions to the search advisory work in order to help guide our decisions. I am excited to read candidate applications (it could be up to sixty, some speed reading might be required).

And I know I speak for all the Regents when I say that we really want to hear from you.

What are your ideas about where we are headed and who we need to lead us? Let’s talk.

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

 

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Open Ears, Open Minds – What I Learned From Our First Public Session

Open Ears, Open Minds – What I Learned From Our First Public Session

by | Aug 5, 2019 | Regent Firsts

Open Ears, Open Minds – What I Learned From Our First Public Session

In early July, we held the first round of public listening sessions to give you, the community, an opportunity to tell us what you want in the person who will lead the University of Nebraska. In retrospect I’m not sure we communicated that very well.

It was, in short, a commentary on what not to assume.

Because while we showed up at the event thinking “we want to hear what you have to say and we’re going to listen,” a number of the people who showed up seemed to be thinking the same thing. They were looking for information. That’s not to say that no one spoke up – we did have some great feedback and suggestions and appreciated all the people who shared their candid opinions.

Fairness came up a lot. We have four very different types of campuses with different cultures but common purpose, and fairness was noted as an important quality in a leader. The sessions also gave me a new appreciation for just how much a leader is involved in the whole community, not just the academic one. A sense of common purpose and investment is critical both within the university, but also the state at large.

Since it was a public listening session, it was open to anyone and everyone (just like the next one will be). We had a small but solid cross section of faculty, students, and others from the community.

But one group that stuck out to me was the staff.

They’re like a near invisible force, the unsung heroes that contribute in so many ways to the students’ education and experience. We got to hear about how deeply they are invested in the university and the students. How much they care and feel part of the school’s family. They constantly interact with the students outside of the classroom – they know them, love them, and want them to do well. As such, they had a number of truly valuable insights.

We have another round of listening sessions coming up in August and this time I’ll try to make it clear – we’re there to open our ears, open our minds, open our hearts to whatever feedback you have. We want to know what you think, what you want, what you need, in a leader.

So please, come and share. We’ll be listening.

 

 

 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

 

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