Forever a Maverick

In life there are two moments: those in which we act, and those in which we reflect.

This past year has provided seemingly endless opportunities for both. We stepped up to look after each other’s health and wellbeing amid a pandemic and we raised our voices to speak out against the injustices marginalized communities face. We paused to listen to words of wisdom of artist and Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak during Spring Commencement and Secretary of State John Kerry during the Hagel Forum in Global Leadership. We stopped, even for a moment, to reflect upon historic successes in retention in enrollment – an accomplishment all students, faculty, and staff played a role in. 

Today, I write you as I prepare to both act and reflect.

After almost four years of having the pleasure of serving as your chancellor, I will plan to step down from this role June 30, 2021 and assume a new and expanded set of duties as executive vice president and provost of the University of Nebraska System. I will not be far away from this campus community, however, as I will continue to serve as chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Board Chair of Nebraska Medicine. 

As a first-generation student from New York City, I was drawn in by this institution’s infectious attributes that together make the Maverick Spirit. That same Maverick Spirit – the innate calling that drives us to collaborate, to create, to explore, and to make a positive difference in as many lives as possible – is also what draws me to serve at the system level. I can say with full confidence that the Maverick Spirit will weave its way into all that I do in the future, in tasks both big and small. 

Today, I wish to once more thank you, our Maverick students, faculty, and staff, for providing me the honor of a lifetime to serve as chancellor of such an exceptional institution and your unwavering commitment to our success and to each other.

Though we have much to accomplish together in the next eight months, I do look forward to moments that we may have together as a community to reflect, and to build the future.

What we are doing here at this university matters. We are changing lives. We are making our home of Omaha – our living, breathing campus – a better place to live, work, and grow.

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to make this institution one of the finest in the nation.

In the Maverick Spirit,

Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.

Chancellor