I get the sense some people were kind of surprised by the Regents’ nomination of Ted Carter as the priority candidate for the University of Nebraska’s next president. After the announcement, here’s what happened:

We watched closely. Not just the Regents, but the staff, the faculty, and all kinds of stakeholders and community members across the state of Nebraska. This was the next official step – observing the priority candidate as he had meetings with all sorts of people.

One thing I noticed about him time and time again is that he’s incredibly candid – he answered all questions posed to him, didn’t back away from the difficult ones, and sometimes even simply agreed to disagree.

It’s a bit of a shock to the system.

Admittedly, my first reaction when he came up as a candidate was somewhat doubtful. There’s a certain air of strict hierarchy associated with military leadership structure that I wasn’t sure would blend well with academia. I’m more than happy to say that a series of extensive, deep, thoughtful discussions moved me from a place of doubt to a place of support.

We were considering many exceptional candidates, but his thoughts and actions truly set him apart.

I know people will need more time to digest this – many probably had some of the same initial doubts as I did – but I would encourage you to keep an open mind. Focus on the person, not the preconceived notions we have about leaders from the military ranks.

One thing I admire about him is his attention to detail and ability to see (and factor in) complexity or nuance of any given situation. He really seems to have a genuine focus on and care for people. Especially in a system as large as ours, I think that’s pretty critical. Okay, three things, you got me.

We have a lot of hard questions that need answers. In order to even begin to have those conversations in a productive manner we need to develop a sense of trust in our governance. Constituents from across the University of Nebraska’s system and Nebraska at large have experienced disappointments. I understand that completely.

However we cannot keep looking in the rearview mirror.

My ongoing commitment is to be as transparent as we can be and to work off of the belief that we have people who only want the best for the University of Nebraska, for the community, for the state.

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