Who would have guessed that UNO would wait four years for an independent chancellor? Don’t get me wrong, the campus was fortunate to have Dr. Jeff Gold to cover UNMC and UNO. But there is definitely something to be said about the benefits of being able to focus on UNMC and UNO individually.

It’s not terribly surprising that it took so long, especially given the uncertainty with changing the university President and facing the ongoing pandemic. The university’s own process of careful selection and extensive vetting also plays a significant role in the amount of time it takes to reach a decision, admittedly.

Now, as we are slowly emerging from these difficult months for so many Nebraskans, it feels good to be able to share that of the four qualified candidates recommended to President Carter, a priority candidate has been selected.

Allow me to introduce Dr. Joanne Li.

A first-generation college graduate who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong, she borrowed $600 from a friend and from there earned scholarships to cover her all the way to her Ph.D. She comes to us from Florida International University (the 4^th largest public university in the country), where she was dean and professor of Business. 

One thing that she made clear throughout the process: Dr. Li is all about students. 

When she arrived at FIU she found four-year graduation rates at a low 29% and managed to raise them to 70% as of last year. Her commitment to student success has led to new programs in mentoring and student support, and she is also working to increase the diversity of her faculty. 

Of the forty new faculty she hired, 25 were minorities and 12 were women. Her work demonstrates that she believes in collaboration to create community.

Now she starts a thirty-day period where she’ll meet with as many different constituencies as possible at UNO and our community. At the end of thirty days, President Carter will present her for the Board of Regents endorsement, and beginning July 1, 2021, she will become our new chancellor.

If you would like to meet her, she will be in the Thompson Alumni Center on:

Wednesday, April 7 at 5 pm
Thursday, April 8 at 10:30 am & 2:00 pm
Friday, April 9 at 9:30 am

Everyone in the community is warmly invited to attend. You’ll gain a first-hand understanding of why we are all thrilled at this prospect.