As you may know, the University of Nebraska System and institutions around the nation are navigating budget challenges this year.
Some universities are facing very difficult reductions. But thanks to careful financial planning and fiscal discipline, our structural deficit is comparatively small: $1.9 million will need to be addressed by December 2025.
This is a manageable deficit that we plan to address without significant disruption to the way we teach, work, and learn at UNO.
We will close this gap through internal financial management, such as identifying efficiencies and expanding revenue streams.
Even as we work to address our current deficit, our work is just beginning as a university system to face a number of financial headwinds in this biennium and beyond. These include evolving federal and state policies, inflation, increasing cost of health insurance, and the general rising costs of conducting university business.
Perhaps one of the most challenging budgetary headwinds we face is the mandated Nebraska tuition waiver programs. As both Nebraska’s urban campus and the only NU System institution that relies predominately on tuition funding, we are disproportionately affected by these unfunded mandates.
These mandates have created an unsustainable budget environment outside of our direct control as a campus. Decreasing government investments, plus obligations for unfunded mandates, have resulted in more economic pressure on our students, faculty, and staff.
I applaud President Gold for acknowledging the financial burden that these mandates have on our operations and his willingness to find sustainable solutions.
There are many aspects of this current environment that make us feel uncertain, but I remain confident in our campus community’s future. As we move forward, I want you to know the sacrifices you make every day do not go unnoticed.
Thank you all for your unwavering support for each other, our learners, and the community we call home.
Sincerely,
Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA
UNO Chancellor
