Over the last five years, UNL retention from first to second year has increased 2.3 percentage points and four-year graduation rate has increased more than 8.5 percentage points. In 2023, the university’s total research expenditures grew to $366 million, a 37 percent increase over the past decade. UNL has also experienced tremendous growth in externally sponsored federal funding, increasing to a record $163 million in 2023.

Chancellor Bennett came to Nebraska after nine years of successful leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi. During his tenure as president, USM was reclassified from a Carnegie R2 to an R1 university, signaling growth in research prestige and funding. Dr. Bennett also invested in programs to support student recruitment, retention and outcomes, including for the 30 percent of USM students who were first-generation. His efforts led to an improvement in the university’s six-year graduation rate.

Prior to his role at the University of Southern Mississippi, Dr. Bennett served at the University of Georgia for more than a decade. He was the senior administrator for student programs and services for Georgia’s 34,000-plus students; oversaw $150 million in capital projects; and made key staff and programmatic investments in extracurriculars, mental health programs and other areas to better support students.

Dr. Bennett has also been the dean of students at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and associate dean of student life at Middle Tennessee State University.

Chancellor Bennett values community leadership and service. He has served on numerous boards, including the Mississippi Aquarium, Northeast Georgia Girl Scouts of America, Catholic Health East (Philadelphia), and St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens, Georgia. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and Past Sire Archon for Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, The Boulé.

Dr. Bennett earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, a master’s degree in educational administration, and an education specialist degree from Middle Tennessee State. He earned his Doctor of Education degree from Tennessee State University.

He and his wife, Temple, are the parents of two adult daughters, Colby and Logan.

Prior to joining Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Chatters served as the director of community partnerships and strategic initiatives at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he played a key role in strengthening university-community collaborations, leading institutional initiatives and expanding student opportunities. He also made a significant impact in Nebraska Athletics as the executive associate athletic director for strategic initiatives, where he led student-athlete development programs and pioneered the Red Carpet Experience, a program that provided thousands of Husker fans with free access to athletic events.

Chatters holds a Ph.D. and a master's degree in counseling psychology from Nebraska.

An experienced academic and business leader, Farrell served as associate dean for four years and chair of the Department of Finance for two years prior to serving as Dean. She also serves on the board of directors of Lincoln-based organizations Nelnet, Inc., Assurity, Inc., Bryan Health, and Lincoln Community Foundation, among other nonprofit boards and committees..

After joining the College of Business in 1993, she began teaching corporate finance and banking for over 20 years. She received the Distinguished Teaching Award and the University Distinguished Teaching Award along with achieving tenure in 2001 and full professor in 2009.

Farrell’s research interests include executive compensation, executive turnover and succession and other corporate governance issues. Her publications have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Business, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, National Tax Journal, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Research and others.

Prior to earning her Ph.D. in finance from the University of Georgia, Farrell was an auditor for KPMG Peat Marwick in Baltimore and Atlanta and earned the designation of Certified Public Accountant (inactive). She received her bachelor's degree from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

He is the creator and host of The Smart Thinking Podcast, a weekly podcast filled with stories and processes to support leadership everywhere.

In addition to his professional obligations, Neitzke is also the mayor of Port Washington, Wisconsin. He has many titles but his favorites are: son, brother, husband, father and uncle.