UNO Magazine: Only in Nebraska

From the Spring 2023 UNO Magazine

The University of Nebraska at Omaha has always been fiercely dedicated to the city and state whose names we bear. And since our founding, UNO has shared a commitment to our more important goal: ensuring student success. Every student who seeks a UNO education is welcome, supported and encouraged to complete their degrees, improve their lives and make a difference in our world.

As the university’s urban campus, UNO is uniquely rooted in Omaha — the state’s largest labor pool — and we serve this community by developing the next generation of leaders and by connecting highly skilled graduates to fulfilling careers. UNO is a leader in community engagement, working with partners to embed service learning, experiential learning and community-based learning into the student experience.

But UNO knows it can do more.

Because of the power that comes when we stand together as one community, UNO is pleased to participate in Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. We are committed to engaging 18,000 unique donors to raise $300 million in support of this campaign.

This campaign will:

• ensure that the University of Nebraska at Omaha is accessible to all students and can help every student achieve their goals;
• invest in our faculty – the university’s lifeblood and source of intellectual capital for Nebraska – and in its academic and clinical programs; and
• help the university save lives and change lives, by increasing its reach as a hub of research and innovation.

From Chancellor Li

“At UNO, the most important goal is to empower our students through higher education and improve their social and economic mobility. If wecan move students up one or even two tiers, then we lift not only our students, but their families, and by extension our community, and our state.”

Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA
Chancellor, University of Nebraska at Omaha

For the Potential We'll Unlock: Student Success and Success

Our mission is to ensure that everyone who seeks a UNO education has access to it and is equipped with every opportunity to succeed. It is imperative that we remove the barriers that stand between students and their goals. To make this possible, we must create scholarships and learning communities that support our students.

“I was able to develop as a student leader and become an advocate for the issues that I’m passionate about that help improve our campus community, but also our community in general.”

Vanessa Chavez Jurado
Student, UNO College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Photo by Geoff Johnson

For the Knowledge We'll Share: Faculty and Academic Excellence

To build a supportive environment in which students can learn and grow, we must recruit and retain outstanding faculty. To increase our intellectual capital and attract the faculty members who will further our research capabilities, we must do more to make UNO the best place for these talented academic to do their work. And we must invest in the programs that meet the region’s workforce needs.

“We are helping to ask questions about what tomorrow's threat will be.”

Gina Ligon, Ph.D.
Director, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center
Jack and Stephanie Koraleski Professor of Collaboration Science
UNO College of Business Administration

Photo by Geoff Johnson

For the Knowledge We'll Share: Faculty and Academic Excellence

At UNO, a confluence of knowledge, experience and energy exists that makes this institution a hub of intellectual curiosity and thought leadership. It’s important work — not always seen by the public — that has the power to transform our communities and shape our future. But we can do even more, by equipping our researchers with the resources and funds to tackle bigger issues.

“My goal is to help people live better and longer and improve their quality of life through all the different ideas that we're working on.”

Nikolaos Stergiou, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean and Director, Biomechanics and Research Development
Distinguished Community Research Chair in Biomechanics
UNO College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences