August 21, 2023
Colleagues,
I am honored to welcome you to the fall semester and our first academic year together at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
I wanted to take this moment to express my gratitude for your dedication and unwavering commitment to our students. From a welcoming smile in a dining hall to one-on-one instruction during office hours, your interactions with our students are the single most important factor in their journey toward academic excellence and personal growth.
I encourage you to help the university maximize the opportunities that lie ahead. Begin by continuing to embrace our land-grant mission, using your expertise to assist communities across the state. Every outreach effort builds bridges, forges partnerships and deepens appreciation for the great work we do here at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Expand collaboration in research to further our goal of rejoining the Association of American Universities (AAU). Continue to seek multidisciplinary approaches that draw from a spectrum of ideas. This will not only enhance the quality and depth or our academic enterprise, but also ensure its relevance and applicability in real-world scenarios.
And finally, be committed to utilizing our fiscal resources wisely and efficiently as we operate within budgetary constraints.
I value input from each of you as we honor shared governance of this institution. To that end, engage in open dialogues and share ideas often. Every conversation could result in an opportunity for us to make a greater impact.
As we move forward into this next chapter at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, I want you to know that your efforts are appreciated more than words can express. Thank you for being the driving force behind the success of our students, university and state. Your role is immeasurable, and I am truly honored to work alongside such an exceptional group of colleagues.
Together, we will continue to inspire and achieve big things.
Go Big Red!
Rodney D. Bennett
Chancellor