Picking up where I left off – my 2019 “wow I can’t believe it I’ve just become a regent” reality check.

Following the glow of the swearing-in ceremony was several days of orientation with the great staff at Varner Hall, which started the process of thinking like a regent.

I loved this process of learning and meeting the people I would be working with over the next six years.

Then, the reading began to pile up… including a whole section in the regent notebook on NCAA rules and regulations – basically I cannot talk to any youth past elementary school as it can be viewed as recruiting. Fortunately, family members do not count. 

Then there were the bylaws, contracts, standing rules, and of course the support reading for items on the agenda of my first Board meeting. Needless to say, speed-reading and time management are two very useful skills.

There was also a lot of joy.

I spent 2019 meeting as many people as I could and I loved meeting the people that make Nebraska such a great place.

They were all welcoming and offered help any time I might need it. I also had the pleasure of attending graduations, greeting all the graduates, family, faculty, and friends on such an exciting day.

Look, I knew the university was a large system. I had worked at UNO long enough to see at least a piece of the organization. But over the past year I’ve come to realize how little I knew about the extent, size, and reach of the entire university.

Being on the Business Affairs Committee was a way to truly experience the big picture, and in the course of this year we moved to a system that will save the university millions with a new way to do our bond work.

In the Audit and Risk Management Committee I learned the interesting ways the university tracks the risks on a large scale.

Communication has been an ongoing struggle. This complex system has so many partners, donors, employees, students, and citizens all needing to communicate and collaborate. We need to strive to simplify and make things as transparent as possible both inside and outside the system. I am planning to continue my blog and do streaming office hours (I have a number of exciting guests willing to come sit with me) and I hope you will send me your ideas and/or questions.

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2020.

So with all that in mind, catch my intentions in the next blog – and maybe you’ll share some of your own!

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