NU president reflects on first year leading university, discusses future opportunities

University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said the university system is looking at which areas to prioritize as federal cuts and changes impact research. Gold cited agriculture, defense and artificial intelligence as topics NU has already invested in and can put more focus on as federal priorities change under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“When there are changes in access to federal funds, state funds, even corporate partnerships that fund research, we have to adjust,” Gold said. “And the adjustment really has to be with ‘OK, if we're not funding research area one, what about research area two, three and four?’”

Gold said research is one of the ways the university attracts students.

In a message to the campus community on May 6, Gold wrote that over 70 federal grants had been terminated since January. He said he doesn’t want those to be setbacks for the university.

“While one might wring their hands about grants and contracts that are canceled — and of course, we do and we have to deal with them all on a real-time basis — we also need to be proactive, looking forward as to where the opportunities will be, and be sure that we're timely and well positioned to take advantage of those opportunities,” Gold said.

Gold said he meets with other Big Ten university presidents as well as the Association of American Medical Colleges, and he’s been hearing similar challenges and thoughts.

As federal priorities and funding shifts, the state budget is on its way to being finalized. The University of Nebraska initially sought a 3.5% increase each year for the next two years, but is currently receiving a one-time 1.25% increase.

Gold said it is disappointing to see a smaller increase than they asked for.

“These are tens of millions of dollars-a-year differences, and certainly it is not our objective at all to pass any of that back to the students in the form of tuition,” Gold said. “Our major goal is to keep high-quality, accessible education affordable to Nebraskans and to others who choose their educational journey with us, but there is no question that we will have to reassess our priorities as to how and in what we will invest.”

Gold doesn’t want the smaller increase in funding to mean an increase in tuition, he said. Especially with the federal funding cuts and changes, Gold said he wants students to know the university supports them.

“I like to say that great universities teach young women and young men how to think,” Gold said. “We don't necessarily teach them what to think — because the things that you will deal with over the course of your lives are going to change from week to week, year to year, decade to decade — but an approach to how to solve problems, an experience in problem solving that may have been relevant to what you may be dealing with tomorrow or the next week or the next year.”

As graduation and commencement season gets underway, Gold said he’s been traveling the state to speak with students and their families as they start the next chapter of their lives.

“Everybody tells me how important the university is, how it's changed their lives, their loved ones,” Gold said. “Whether it's their granddaughter who attended our medical school, or whether it's their parent who got cured from their cancer, whether it's the work we do in agriculture to increase quality, quantity and safety of the farming and ranching communities — it all adds up to ‘This is a great university. It's critically important to the state and to the region. And by the way, Jeff, keep up the good work and don't mess it up.’”