dailynebraskan.com · Colton Knott · September 9, 2026
Gold talks wins and “difficult decisions" in University address | News | dailynebraskan.com
# Gold balances wins and “difficult decisions" in State of the University address
- Colton Knott
#### Colton Knott
- Author email (coltonknott@dailynebraskan.com) - 40 mins ago - 40 mins ago
University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold delivers his State of the University Address at the State Capitol on Sept. 3, 2026, in Lincoln. Colton Knott
The University of Nebraska System held its second annual State of the University Address on Sept. 3.
NU President Jeffrey Gold spoke to students, faculty and administrators about the current achievements, challenges and upcoming opportunities facing the statewide university system.
“Even as we have navigated challenges, we have also embraced incredible opportunity and made extraordinary strides,” Gold said. “The mission is clear, and the university is strong across our campuses.”
The biggest strides from the past year were the university’s work and outreach in agriculture, national security, human performance, advanced technology and healthcare, according to Gold.
One major achievement for the university system was the joint accreditation of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which Gold said will allow for a smoother educational pathway in healthcare.
Gold also highlighted the newly approved University of Nebraska’s Advanced Artificial Intelligence Institute, which has already received outside funding from sources such as the Nebraska Research Initiative and Google.
“The institute is working across all of our campuses to connect researchers, share classroom resources and ensure that our approach to artificial intelligence is ethical and is human-sensitive,” Gold said.
Outside of campus advancements, Gold highlighted the system’s economic impact across the state. The economic impact can be felt through a $10 return for every taxpayer-invested dollar and the university's recent output of 11,000 University of Nebraska graduates into the workforce.
“Our job, of course, is not to focus on the headcount of our students, but the success of our students and accelerating their degrees and certificates as rapidly as possible,” Gold said.
Additionally, Gold discussed the University of Nebraska Foundation’s achievements in philanthropy. It collected more than $500 million in donations from 60,000 individual donors.
“This is an unquestionable mark of their (donors’) generosity, but also the confidence of the 60,000 individuals in the future of our university,” Gold said.
However, Gold emphasized this past year was not without its challenges, as the university had to navigate large budget reductions.
“Over the last decade, we’ve responded to difficult, and I want to underscore difficult, decisions, while protecting the core of our mission: extraordinary teaching, life-changing research and meaningful high-impact engagement across the state,” Gold said.
Gold acknowledged the loss of programs and staff that made a difference to students, communities and the state across the university system.
Outside of budget reductions, Gold also discussed the university system and Board of Regents’ plan for a 4.25% increase in the biennial budget request for the 2028 and 2029 academic years.
The increase will request Nebraska taxpayer dollars for added support in areas such as scholarships, biomedical research and advancements in “aged-out” software.
“This is a carefully considered request, a request that reflects the average rate of consumer inflation over the last 40 years,” Gold said. “And ultimately will help ensure that we can continue delivering teaching, learning, the research and the outreach that every person depends on every day.”
Gold highlighted the importance of giving back to the university system to help ensure “the vitality” of the state’s future.
“At a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, investing in the University of Nebraska is not just an investment in higher education; it’s an investment in Nebraska,” Gold said.
news@dailynebraskan.com
dailynebraskan.com P.O. Box 880448 Lincoln, NE 68588 Phone: 402-472-2588 Email: dn@unl.edu