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The Presidential Search: Step by Step

The Presidential Search: Step by Step

by | Jul 15, 2019 | Regent Firsts

The Presidential Search: Step by Step

It has begun. The search for the new University of Nebraska President is on. And here’s how it works.

No one person chooses the next President. Instead, an Advisory Committee is formed that then recommends a few carefully chosen candidates to the board. But how do we determine who those candidates should be?

It was recommended to us that we hire a firm that specializes in these kinds of searches. So we did.

When there are professionals who make it their business to find the right fit, why not make use of their talent? The first thing they did was to interview a range of people across all four campuses in order to put together a profile of what we wanted in our next university President.

After a lot of listening, they went over their summary with us, which included a list of what they understood to be our priorities.

This sort of back and forth – listening, processing, repeating – has been really helpful and I feel like we’re on the right track.

Another benefit of this professional search team is that they have connections across the country and not only do they know who’s actively looking for a new position, they have an excellent sense of people who might be a great fit but haven’t actively thrown their hat in the ring. Other than this educational matchmaking, this firm also offers training sessions for academic positions and issues, working all the time to understand and communicate what’s happening in the academic world. This is why they need to get to know us really well, through and through.

But ours aren’t the only voices they want to hear, and rightly so.

They told us they wanted to go to each campus and invite students, faculty, and community members for opening listening sessions.

We’ve conducted a first round and a second round is coming up soon. The first of those sessions was enlightening to say the least. But that’s another story…

 

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

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Fireworks, Family, Philosophy

Fireworks, Family, Philosophy

by | Jul 4, 2019 | Uncategorized

Fireworks, Family, Philosophy

The 4th of July was all about the fireworks for me growing up.  

I remember all the colors, the screeches and pops of the smaller fireworks, the thud and boom of the bigger ones, their light trailing across the sky before fading into faint smoke trails. It was like big, beautiful, collective dream. It brought us all together – friends and family and strangers alike – under one sky, in awe. I loved it.

When my husband Wally and I were raising our young children, we didn’t have a lot of birth family around, so there weren’t any big family gatherings for us on the 4th. However when we moved to Omaha in 1973 we were able to find families with whom we became friends. Our children were similar ages, we got along really well, and we were all in major kid/young family life stages. I’m pretty sure most parents out there know the exquisite kind of chaos I’m talking about.  

Over the years, this became our family.

And our extended family. The family we chose, that we made. We took turns hosting family cookouts, potluck barbecues, and Fourth of July celebrations. The holiday took on a new but familiar cadence: kids with sparklers, lively conversations, grilling on the BBQ, and watching fireworks together.

One of my favorite July 4ths came when I traveled to Chicago with our oldest daughter, Katie. She and her friend were competing for a national award from a high school organization, Future Business Leaders of America. We were staying in a hotel across from a park on Lake Michigan and from our balcony that evening we heard the Chicago Symphony was playing the 1812 Overture while the fireworks danced over the lake. It was spectacular.

As I thought about the reason we were there – an incredible educational opportunity for my daughter – I felt incredibly proud and overwhelmed by how blessed I was to be in this country.

Today, there’s much to think about. I think about the risk the writers of the Declaration of Independence accepted. I think about how immense their dream was and how amazing their ability to inspire the whole country to risk it all.

I hope we understand how important it is that we educate all our citizens to be an active part of a country that started as a beautiful and wild dream. A country that is built on the principles of justice, equality, and freedom for all. As I watch the fireworks tonight, in that brief period of collective awe, I will be thinking about how we can all walk a path together that lives up to the declaration written on that July 4th long ago. 

 

 

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

*Photo Cred: Jim DeVleeschouwer, Jr

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A Search of Presidential Proportion

A Search of Presidential Proportion

by | Jul 2, 2019 | School Uniqueness

A Search of Presidential Proportion

On June 20 and 21, we held open listening sessions to hear your thoughts on what we should be looking for in the selection process for a new President for the University of Nebraska. Maybe you were there. Maybe you couldn’t make it. Maybe you didn’t even know about it. Either way, I’m here now asking you – what do you think?

What qualities do you think will best benefit the university, the community and the state as a whole? Someone business-minded? Someone philosophical? Someone who will focus on the curriculum? Or maybe you think what’s needed is a more general approach?

 

This whole selection process is an intensive one. It’s thorough. It’s careful. Not every piece of it is entirely public. I’ll explain.

There are good reasons for this. Where I typically go for a total transparency approach, I can understand why that doesn’t necessarily apply to the selection process for our new President. For example, the nature of these kinds of searches has changed over the years. They tend to be conducted in a shorter time frame and often candidates won’t declare themselves because they may be in a position where doing so openly would imperil their work (should they not be selected).

Even though I can’t share every part of this selection process with you, I’m taking you on this journey with me and will share when I can and explain when I can’t. Plus, I can share my thoughts, the questions I think we need to ask ourselves, and the invitation for your input.

Personally, I think we need someone who is really good at collaborative efforts.

At any given point, regarding any decision to be made about the university, there are lots and lots of people who are involved. Once you start thinking about the bigger picture – the community, the state, the legislature – the ability to work effectively with people to find common ground with the people’s best interest in mind, that’s a major skill. One I think we would all benefit from.

Those are my two cents. But I’m more interested in hearing yours. I want you to think about the future of the university – where do you see it going, and how do you think we should get there? We have another open listening session coming up that I’ll tell you all about as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I’m listening…

 

 

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

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You Have 1,001 Notifications

You Have 1,001 Notifications

by | Jun 25, 2019 | Regent Firsts

You Have 1,001 Notifications

It starts with the magic iPad. That’s what I call it. All Regents are assigned a designated iPad for all communications to do with the university. It comes with some pretty fantastic programs designed to help us keep organized. There’s ‘Receptionist,’ which aggregates news that has to do with academics. There’s ‘Board Effect,’ which manages supporting documents associated with meetings and committees. It’s a great tool. What it doesn’t come equipped with, however, is an instruction manual for how to prioritize the tsunami of information that comes our way.

On any given day, there will be a flood of invites to events, meetings, groundbreakings, ceremonies, and more – all worthwhile, almost all overlapping.

My inbox is populated with everything from press release notifications to football updates to emails from some reliable regulars who aren’t shy about sharing their pointed, sometimes sarcastic, typically funny and insightful thoughts. 

I feel pulled in a hundred directions all at once.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good problem to have, I am just still trying to figure out how to give everyone and everything the attention they deserve. Did you know that about ten days prior to a committee meeting Regents will receive ‘supporting documents’ pertinent to that meeting, and that they often add up to about 300 pages? I sure didn’t. That’s a novel’s worth of information, and it’s all really important to make a sound, informed decision. It’s a big responsibility, and not one that I take lightly.

So as I’m wading through the flood of directions for August graduations, invites, notifications and a ton of documentation, there are three things I try to keep in mind:

I can’t do everything, but I will do as much as I can.

It’s all about what’s best for the school, the community.

Keep breathing.

 

 

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

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150 going on 200

150 going on 200

by | Jun 17, 2019 | Education Budget, Regent Firsts

150 going on 200

I’ve walked you through my experience of getting ready for my first Regent committee meeting. Today I want to share what I discovered that day and continue to learn about how we’re trying to address pressing issues but also how we’re trying to think big picture ten, twenty, fifty years down the line. Because it’s critical to think ahead. Because we want to be ready for the future when it arrives. Because it goes by fast. Because as an institution and as a community, we really are 150 going on 200.

Let’s start with something physical, tangible. There’s a lot of discussion around maintenance – particularly deferred maintenance – which is an ongoing need when you’re dealing with buildings that are 150 years old and need everything from updated electronics, sprinkler systems, and a whole host of general upkeep.

A lot of colleges struggle with this issue.

And when our state doesn’t put any money toward the badly needed deferred maintenance (with the exception of Memorial Stadium, the only building that receives continual maintenance) then we’re looking at some tough decisions about whether to refurbish a building or to tear it down. I’m kind of a softie for historical buildings but I discovered that there is actually a formula that has been developed to help make that determination. Still, it’s not always an easy choice: to build or to maintain?

Speaking of physical, let’s talk about sports. We know that concussions in football are a serious problem, so much so that in Florida the youngest leagues that started in kindergarten have been suspended for fear of long-term damage to children’s brains. We also know it’s a beloved team sport that can have a big impact on people’s lives. So where’s the middle ground between protecting students’ health and celebrating a beloved sport?

There’s a new helmet design out there with the capacity to record and measure all kinds of impact data and relay that information wirelessly to a computer on the sidelines monitored by the coaching team.

That way teams can monitor (and in theory, respond proactively to) potentially damaging or dangerous situations that could put the student athlete at risk. Could be very useful. 

But hey, let’s go a little further down the sports-talk rabbit hole. We have an almost religious devotion to football but there are a number of other engaging, dynamic sports to consider.

Our women’s volleyball team for example is a national champion and their games are constantly sold out.

Maybe it would be worth moving their games to a bigger arena, sharing the spotlight, encouraging more variety in our athletic devotion. When there’s so much to celebrate, why not widen our focus?

At the end of the day, deferred maintenance and school sports are just two of many, many aspects of our university that will benefit from some forward thinking. Whether it’s academic, social, financial, or structural, a successful future will require an openness to explore new ideas today.

And all of these discussions got me thinking about this: what is a Regent’s role in preparing for the future?

In some ways, I see us as guardians. As guides. We’re here to do all we can to ensure that the entire University of Nebraska community has reason to celebrate its 200th birthday as much as its 150th.

 

 

 

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

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