Message from the President
I recently witnessed the largest graduating class in UNL history and the students donned new academic regalia for the ceremony in celebration of our 150th anniversary. While graduation officially marks the end of the academic year for many students, much work continues to happen at the university. While I was at the ceremony, I had the opportunity to visit with the UNL Emeriti and Retirees Association president, Jeff Keown. He noted that this past year the association made a shift in becoming more inclusive of all faculty and staff who were retirees of the university. As such, for anyone who is retired or retiring soon, I would encourage you to look into joining the Association and continue to stay connected with both UAAD and the Emeriti and Retirees Association. You can find more information on their association at https://emeriti.unl.edu/.
As the president of UAAD I have the opportunity to sit in on a few different meetings throughout the year. I want to pass along a few notes from some of these meetings and groups:
• I have heard both the president and the chancellor indicate optimism for the anticipated budget being passed by the unicameral for the biennual budget.
• The university is continuing to increase the number of in-network providers with the transition of the management of our health care services through UMR. If you are experiencing any concerns regarding the administration of your healthcare services, please communicate directly with our HR team here at the university and they will work to address those issues.
• The university is devoting resources (staff and service opportunities) for helping the staff with flood recovery efforts. Multiple e-mails have been sent and I would encourage you to assist in whatever ways you are able. See https://www.unl.edu/flood-response/ for more information.
• The university will be utilizing a new budget model moving forward. We have the joint meeting coming up in a few weeks with Dr. Bill Nunez, VC of Business and Finance. Please plan to attend and hear more details. Additional information on the process can be found at https://budget.unl.edu/responsibility-center-management.
• The university is currently working on a new service delivery initiative to develop consistent and efficient processes. More details can be found at https://executivevc.unl.edu/service-delivery-initiative.
• Lastly, I have been participating in the Strategy Planning group for the N150 Commission and we have finished our 5th meeting. The chairs are working on assembling the draft of the top priorities with benchmarking data that we can use as we look to implement initaitives for the first 5-years of the plan. The N|2025 Strategy Blueprint is anticipated to completed in early August with a series of open forums to be held throughout the fall where the university community can provide input, feedback and dialogue to further refine the final product. Pay attention to future e-mails with dates for those sessions.
While my time is winding down at president, I continue to enjoy serving and representing UAAD. If there is anything I can do to make UAAD more meaningful to you, please let me know!