Investing in Nebraska’s Future: ‘I Love NU’ Day Highlights University’s Statewide Impact
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LINCOLN – On “I Love NU” Day, it made perfect sense to borrow a quote from Warren Buffett, one of the University of Nebraska’s most famous alumni.
“The best investment you can make is in yourself.”
State Sen. Jason Prokop of Lincoln paraphrased the billionaire businessman while speaking Wednesday to a room filled with students, staff, faculty and alumni from the university system’s four campuses.
As he addressed the crowd, Prokop recognized the aspiring teachers, engineers, doctors and attorneys in attendance and their role as the state’s future leaders.
These students made the decision to invest in themselves by pursuing higher education, he said, and the state must invest in its future by supporting the University of Nebraska System.
“The university impacts every single community in this state, every single county in this state,” Prokop said. “It’s an investment not just in all of you, but in this entire state and the prosperity that we’re all going to have together.”
ECONOMIC DRIVER
In its eighth year, “I Love NU” Day is an annual event that brings dozens of people from across the state together at the State Capitol in Lincoln to celebrate the NU System and promote the critical part it plays in economic and workforce development.
According to a report from national consulting firm Tripp Umbach, the NU System continues to be a vital driver of the statewide economy, with an annual impact reaching $6.4 billion – a $600 million increase over the past three years. For every $1 invested by the state in the NU System, $10 is returned to Nebraska’s economy.
NU also sustains a highly skilled workforce for the state, supporting 1 in 20 jobs and producing 11,000 graduates annually. Among all working-age Nebraskans, 1 in 7 hold a degree from the university system.
Beyond those statistics, NU System President Dr. Jeffrey Gold said, higher education remains the most powerful tool to achieve social mobility and an enhanced quality of life.
“The power of higher education is as important as it has ever been to the future of the state of Nebraska and to the future of our great nation,” he said.
State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner agrees.
She and her husband Greg both graduated from the University of Nebraska. So did their three children.
“The university is very near and dear to our hearts,” Ibach said.
As a state lawmaker, Ibach wants every Nebraska high schooler to know there’s a place for them on an NU campus.
“Your future depends on a quality education, and that’s what the university provides,” she said.
Ibach represents Legislative District 44 in central and southwest Nebraska, so she understands the importance of recruiting and training students from rural areas who want to return to these communities as professionals.
The University of Nebraska at Kearney, in particular, is a “great facilitator” for rural workforce development, she said, noting its strong reputation for training teachers and a growing partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center that addresses the ongoing need for more health care providers in rural communities.
“The university is an economic driver within our state and we should recognize that, and then we should take advantage of that,” Ibach said.
CHANGING LIVES
About 30 representatives from UNK traveled to Lincoln for the “I Love NU” event, including junior Sam Schroeder of Seward.
Recently elected to his second term as student body president and student regent, Schroeder shared a story about his father returning to college later in life to complete his degree while working full time.
“One of the best memories that I have is watching my dad graduate from the University of Nebraska,” he said. “It changed his life, and it changed our lives. He showed me that nothing is impossible with some grit, especially at NU.”
Schroeder is studying political science with a public law minor. He’s part of the UNK Honors Program and Kearney Law Opportunities Program (KLOP), a partnership with the University of Nebraska College of Law that recruits and trains students who want to work as attorneys in rural communities. His younger brother Austin is also part of the KLOP program at UNK.
“I’m investing in the university, and the university is investing back into me,” Schroeder said. “It’s providing me with the education that I need to address an issue that our state faces. This is an opportunity for me to be part of something much bigger than myself.”