From the Chancellor
The world needs you
Mavericks,
It is so exciting to once again have this opportunity to provide you with an update on all the amazing things happening at UNO.
I have a strong belief that no matter your connection to UNO, you are a Maverick. We are your university. We will be here to support you whenever and however we can because we need your Maverick Spirit and the Maverick thinking you bring as a member of our alumni network.
There is no question that your success is our success, and I can say without reservation that our recent Homecoming celebrations and the Wear Black, Give Back only confirmed for me the amazing level of success that we have accomplished together. But even as we celebrate each other, there is still much more that we can, and truthfully need, to accomplish.
We know that our country – and especially the state of Nebraska – needs graduates to fill high demand, high skill, and high wage (H3) professions. These include careers in information technology, cybersecurity, healthcare, agriculture, finance, first responders, aviation and more.
As alumni, you are already familiar with UNO’s long-standing collaboration between our university and the Omaha business and nonprofit communities. These partnerships are more vital now than ever before because access to opportunities like internships, mentorships, serviceships and experiential learning are vital for our students to achieve their higher education goals while also enhancing their intellectual, social and economic mobility.
Your efforts, your accomplishments, and your successes – dozens of which are detailed in this edition of UNO Magazine – are our proof of concept. Your work, day after day, following your curiosity and ingenuity, is a significant part of why our community knows they can trust Mavericks: we show up, and we are game changers.
Earlier this year a study showed a 9:1 return on investment for every $1 invested in the University of Nebraska System and UNO alone has contributed nearly $900 million of economic impact to Nebraska over the last year while you, our alumni, provide hundreds of millions of dollars in additional impact. So, yes, while our investment in improving our city, state and nation’s workforce is not new, it will take continued innovation and collaboration to raise the bar even further.
To do this we are supporting efforts like Career Connect, where more than 60 local companies have committed to providing paid internships for our students; we are growing efforts like Learn and Earn, where our IT students are paired with industry mentors throughout their academic careers, making the transition to in-demand technology jobs seamless; and we are doubling down on our commitment to service learning, which not only keeps students engaged in their communities but makes clear connections between theory and practice.
Through your continued engagement with UNO, the future of our university is brighter than ever. However, we can only prepare for the future if we are willing to make a commitment to addressing the needs of today, together. It is important to dream daringly, yes, but as we turn our eyes toward the horizon, we must also do the demanding work to build the road others can then follow.
And that is why we cannot, and will not, simply put ourselves on cruise control. To meet our economic, social and intellectual workforce needs we must accelerate. We must set the pace. We must firmly set a course to solve the unsolvable. Because that is what a Maverick does and, right now, the world needs Mavericks.
The world needs you.
Sincerely,
UNO Chancellor Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA