University of Nebraska's Work Growing the State a Focus of Budget Hearing

The University of Nebraska budget hearing provided an opportunity for University representatives and advocates to explain how the state's investment in higher education strengthens the entire state and to urge lawmakers to reject significant proposed cuts to its funding.

Speakers cited how campuses and institutes train tomorrow's skilled workforce, make research breakthroughs, and serve communities from the Panhandle to the Missouri -- work that all adds up to an annual $3.9 billion economic impact, a 6-to-1 return on investment.

"If we want Nebraska to compete, if we want this to be a place where our children and grandchildren will live and work and raise a family, if we want to build a workforce that will sustain us into the future, then we have to invest in one of the primary economic drivers our state has. And that's the University of Nebraska," said University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds.

Speaking on behalf of all 53,000 students in the University of Nebraska system, UNO Student Body President Carlo Eby stressed the importance of protecting the affordability and quality of Nebraska's public universities, a priority he said is shared by Mavericks, Huskers, Lopers, and students at UNMC alike.

"With each cut, they realize they lose another educational opportunity, recognize a likely tuition increase, or one less way that the University is able to serve our growing and diverse student body," Eby said.

Speakers also emphasized the importance of the cutting-edge research being conducted across the institutes and campuses, in areas such as medicine, agriculture, and national defense. Among the speakers was Ashli Brehm, who praised the care and expertise of the medical team who helped her survive Stage 2 breast cancer, a disease she was diagnosed with at just 33 years-old.