OUR JOURNEY AHEAD

If you want a glimpse into the future, pick a day to walk around campus and let your curiosity guide you. You will see students showcasing research, conducting practice interviews as they prepare to enter the workforce, studying in groups in the Pep Bowl, rehearsing for plays, earning experience while working campus jobs – the list goes on. When I see these students, I see a future defined by connectivity, ambition, ingenuity, creativity, and personal development.

 

They are fully committed to building for a brighter future for themselves and their community, so we must commit ourselves to their success.

 

Our journey to becoming a leader in workforce development in our state and our region will take time and it will not always be easy – worthwhile goals rarely are.

 

In this month’s update, I want to share with you some stories that will inspire you to keep up the momentum we have built in our journey together the same way they inspired me.

In a recent editorial with the Omaha World-Herald, I challenged the long-held belief that hard work alone will get you ahead in life. You might also recognize this idea as “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps." I argue that sheer willpower is not enough. Any career is made stronger by building skills in science, technology, engineering, and math to be competitive in the labor market, and developing the critical, independent thinking that comes from studying the arts and humanities. Without financial assistance, this is simply not possible for many people across the country. As an urban university, we are committing ourselves to making sure students graduate on time with minimal debt and into a career they love. We will equip students with the skills and experiences they need to lift themselves, their families, and communities up.

One of the joys in higher learning is the fact there is a constant churn of new ideas, curiosities, and perspectives with each incoming class. As those students get involved in research, something magical happens. That magic was on display at this year’s Research and Creative Activity Fair, where more than 100 students presented their research projects to the UNO community. The future is bright for these scholars.

Financial literacy is a crucial ingredient in the recipe of lifelong student success. When students are knowledgeable and empowered to make financial decisions, they establish a strong foundation to build their future on. This is an idea that Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Jamie Wagner has taken to heart, and as a result, recently received awards and recognition for her work to make economic education accessible and widespread.

When we talk about creating a campus culture of caring, look no further than Racheal Ceraso. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Racheal and her colleagues in Youth Safety and Health Security have led by example by working diligently to make UNO one of the safest institutions to teach, work, and learn.

The deeper I dig into our university’s research portfolio, the more inspired I am by the amount of work being done to enhance wellness and improve our quality of life. Recent work by Philippe Malcolm, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomechanics, described a novel way to reduce the energy people spend to walk, as much as by half, which could have applications for therapy received by patients with impaired walking abilities.

 

The study, published on the cover of prestigious research journal Science Robotics, marked a new milestone for high-impact institutional research at UNO.