We’re celebrating our 110th year as a business school. The cover of this magazine highlights some of the memorable moments in time as we became the college that we are today.
Back in 2010, when it was announced that we were moving into the Big Ten, we went through a comprehensive strategic planning process and envisioned who we wanted to be. It resulted in the new building, Hawks Hall, in 2017. Since then, we’ve embarked on building a world-class college.
Last year, the University of Nebraska Foundation publicly launched the Only in Nebraska campaign to raise $3 billion for the entire University of Nebraska system. At the College of Business, our goal is $148 million over a 10-year period, and after about six years, we are at $65 million and just over halfway through the campaign.
The college campaign centers around three goals that enable us to lead the future of business.
1. Transformational Research and Innovation - The Center for Entrepreneurship empowers students to be innovative and create ideas for starting their own businesses, including franchising and family business. More than 1,200 students take entrepreneurship courses and about 25% of them are non-business students, and they grow their entrepreneurial skills. Four signature competitions help launch businesses in our state and beyond, and our most famous winners are the founders of Hudl. The center also supports the workforce and contributes to economic development through new business development.
The other aspect of this goal is for faculty to engage in transformational research in their field. Some examples include Esma Gel, Cynthia Hardin Milligan Chair of Business, who received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and worked with the Mayo Clinic, and Tom Kubick, ’05, ’08 & ’11, Ellsworth L. Fulk Chair and professor of accountancy, who was featured in Forbes.com about his work exploring whether executives who experienced accounting-related problems at a former company were more or less likely to experience similar problems at their next employer.
2. Enhancement of Faculty and Academic Excellence - Along with research, we’re enhancing faculty excellence through our Teaching and Learning Center. Faculty work on pedagogical research to make significant strides in the classroom through case studies and ways to effectively form teams in classes and leverage strengths through the Seacrest Fellows Program.
We bring top researchers to Nebraska through events like the Nebraska Accounting Research Symposium, Nebraska Labor Summit and Silicon Prairie Finance Conference. These events allow us to expand our networks and elevate our reputation.
3. Empowering Student Access and Success - To provide prospective students’ pathways into the university, we offer free high school programs like the DREAMBIG Academy for first-generation or underrepresented students from greater Nebraska, Discover Accounting for students interested in accounting and business, and Discover Actuarial Science, which was funded through corporate sponsors. These programs bring young adults to campus to show them why they should choose Nebraska after graduation and share why they should consider business as their future major and career to help advance the state’s workforce.
In addition, we launched a partnership with Lincoln Public Schools at Standing Bear High School where our faculty introduce teens to business. We also bring youth from around the state to visit the college for Middle School Days and other outreach programs.
Our peer-to-peer focus cultivates business student success and develops both the mentor and the mentee as they learn to work together generating a multiplier effect. The mentors have part-time employment and gain valuable experience to enhance their resumes.
Finally, we empower students through scholarships. Though I could share many stories about the more than 800 students who received scholarships this year, I wanted you to hear about the impact of scholarships directly from a student.
Many of you are alumni who are now business leaders. The next generation of Huskers wants to follow in your footsteps, but many must rely on scholarship support to pursue their education today. With your help, our Nebraska Business community can continue to create business leaders like only Nebraska can.
Together, we are Nebraska Business.
Dean Kathy Farrell