First Day of (Regent) School
First Day of (Regent) School
It started with the outfit. I wasn’t really sure what to wear. What says First-Time-Regent-Long-Time-Educator-Open-To-Learning-Anything-and-Everything? A pants suit? A dress? I was excited but also nervous. It was time for my first committee meeting as Regent of University of Nebraska. The topic? Audit and Risk Management.
That morning kicked off a real growing awareness of how critical Regents’ jobs are to the University system, the economy, the whole state. So, you know, no pressure.
When I was a girl my parents used to bring me to the East campus across the street from Varner Hall, where the hospitality program lived for special family dinners. The waiters used to wear white gloves and my mother would tease me about the “cuties,” much to my constant embarrassment. They were fond memories, even when my cheeks flushed or I felt butterflies in my stomach. Varner Hall – a familiar sight – serves as an admin building and as I walked through for the first time as a Regent, with the warm greetings and enthusiastic welcomes, it felt like a homecoming. The butterflies returned as well, although for a very different reason.
So the way it works with Regents is that each of us serves on two different committees. There are four total: Academic Affairs, Business Affairs, Executive Committee, and Audit and Risk Management. That last one sounds like a party, huh? It was decided for me that as a new Regent I’d serve on the Business Affairs and Audit and Risk Management Committees. I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised that I wasn’t assigned to Academic Affairs, given my teaching background. I wanted to be helpful, useful.
I thought to myself, “how can I possibly ever learn enough to make wise decisions that benefit everyone and balance the interests of students, faculty, and taxpayers alike?”
Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer that alone. You see, all new Regents serve on the Audit and Risk Management Committee because it is one of the best ways to get familiar with the system as a whole. I realized how clever it was – how necessary – to have such diverse backgrounds on this particular committee, and how understanding the big picture gives you a greater appreciation for how different pieces of the University can work together in tandem, in harmony.
The decisions we make have implications for years to come. That started to sink in.
As did the fact that at a giant roundtable of intelligent and well-spoken people, my specially assigned iPad (for Regent communications) was the only one not working. Fantastic.
Overall, it was a great experience. Painful sometimes – first days usually are in some ways – but invaluable. At the end of the day, the butterflies flew off, replaced by the overwhelming energy of welcome.
*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.
*Photo Cred: University of Nebraska, Lincoln
