Interim UNL chancellor looks ahead following program cuts, resignations and buyouts

This academic year has come with several challenges for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Four departments were eliminated at UNL this school year, and the chancellor resigned.

The University of Nebraska system also offered a voluntary separation program in an effort to close its more than $40 million budget gap this school year. Nearly 100 faculty members in the system took the buyout offer, with 56 of them from UNL.

Interim chancellor Katherine Ankerson talked about the many changes at the university, and what's in store for the future.

Ankerson stepped into the interim chancellor role at UNL in January about a month after the Board of Regents voted to eliminate four departments.

“I feel really privileged to serve in this position for this institution,” Ankerson said. “I love this university. I've spent more than 24 years of my career here, and I just have a real passion to serve the institution, but also the people of the state.”

Ankerson said she’s no stranger to budget cuts, but this time felt different.

“We're a community that wants the best for our state's future, for our country and for the world's future,” Ankerson said. “Because we have those people who are passionate about what this means, a large part of my approach has really been to actively listen, to be present, but just really truly listen, and then to work together in charting a path forward for our university.”

One of the first actions Ankerson took was to host a listening session. Many faculty, staff and students shared disappointment and frustration with the loss of the four departments.

Since starting, Ankerson has held more than 43 listening sessions with campus members and various groups at UNL, such as individual departments and the staff and faculty senates. She said it’s clear from those sessions that those at UNL care about the university, empowering generations and leaving a lasting impact.

Also as part of those listening sessions, Ankerson and UNL officials collected thoughts on UNL’s new draft strategic plan called “Our Bold Path Forward.”

“This is a plan that looks at the next three years,” Ankerson said. “It's a time of rapid change in higher education, important for us to use this as a critical tool to not only project where we want to be in three years, but also to be able to look at our progress and measure that progress as we move along.”

Ankerson said she hopes to have the plan set by the fall. To help accomplish that, she said there will be a meeting with about 100 leaders from across the campus.

Higher education is under a lot of pressure, Ankerson said, including inflation and financial constraints.

“We see some of that pressure as financial, some of it is political,” Ankerson said. “It affects things like international students coming to a university, or it affects how grant availability is at the national level, at the federal level, which, as a research institution, really affects a large part of our mission and our work.”

She added there are several factors impacting how long leaders stay at an institution, including opportunities for that leader or their family that may take them to another university.

“We have been working to build up leaders, staff leaders, especially faculty leaders, who are prepared to take on different levels of responsibility,” Ankerson said. “But you don't go from no leadership responsibility to leading a major unit all in one step, and so that's a scaffolded approach.”

May has been a time of celebration. UNL recently celebrated a record-high number of graduates. Additionally, Ankerson said she recognized nearly 100 faculty members who earned promotion or tenure.

Ankerson said UNL looks forward to continuing to partner with people and organizations across the state, making new discoveries and preparing students for graduation and beyond.

“This is our university. This is the people's university,” Ankerson said. “This is the university that serves the entire 500 miles of the state as part of its mission.”