Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve already broken most of my New Year’s resolutions in one way or another. No judgment, of course. We’re all doing our best. In fact, that’s the one resolution of mine left standing: work on being a better regent.

This may sound silly (bear with me), but one of the unexpected challenges of being a regent has been learning all the acronyms. Honestly, it almost feels like learning a new language sometimes.

To that end, I’m excited that I’ve gone from not knowing what IANR stood for (Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources) to not batting an eye when talking about IANR’s oversight of the new CAP program. CAP stands for Center for Agriculture Profitability, and it’s one of many exciting new programs the university is introducing this year. This particular one focuses on how to use research and economics to help Nebraska farmers strategically utilize resources to make a better living.

Another aspect of this whole regent business that I feel more comfortable with at this point is making my voice heard.

It was difficult for me, initially, to speak out on a number of issues as I was learning the ropes of the position. It feels really good to be in a place where I have a lot more confidence engaging in discussions and brainstorms. You might be thinking, “okay, good for you, why does this matter?”

It matters because the whole reason I’m here is to represent the values that we share, the ideas we want presented, and the future we want to work toward together. Yes, I am my own person, but I’m also a conduit. I’m here for you.

This year I also had the privilege of being on the Presidential Search Committee and to work with fellow regents on the Risk and Assessment Committee to evaluate our progress. Though we may have different approaches, we are working on creating an objective evaluation tool so that if we’re not doing our jobs well enough, we will know it.

Introspection and self-assessment can be tricky, but it’s like a muscle – you have to keep working it to make it stronger. It’s the same with creativity and imagination.

And I’m happy to say, continuing to work hard to improve is exactly what I intend to do.

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