Increased access and success for current and future students is the focus of a two-year, $200 million fundraising initiative announced Thursday by the University of Nebraska and University of Nebraska Foundation.
Impact at UNMC
UNMC-related objectives of Our Students, Our Future include:
- UNMC’s Interdisciplinary Experiential Center for Enduring Learning (iEXCEL℠), a “virtual reality” education center that will allow students to learn and test their skills in a life-like environment.
- Programs at UNMC that expose high school and undergraduate students to opportunities in health care, thus creating a stronger pipeline of future health workers, as well as scholarship programs for rural, low-income and other underserved students.
- Scholarships for graduate students at UNMC, for whom fellowships and stipends are a key tool for recruitment and retention.
The “Our Students, Our Future” initiative, which will conclude at the end of 2017, will provide direct support for university students through need- and merit-based scholarships that will make their college education more affordable; support for programs that improve student outcomes, particularly among traditionally underrepresented students; improvements to facilities that will enhance the learning experience; and other student-focused priorities.
Our Students, Our Future seeks to not only advance the university’s highest priority of affordable excellence, but also position the university to attract more students in support of its goals to significantly grow enrollment and produce more graduates for Nebraska’s workforce.
“I’ve been fortunate to experience firsthand the transformative power of higher education,” said University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, Ph.D. “My goal is for the University of Nebraska to be accessible to every student who wants to change their life in the same way education changed mine.
“The university is doing great things to advance the Board of Regents’ priority of affordable excellence. Yet we know unmet need remains. With support from generous alumni and friends, Our Students, Our Future will help us become a giant in higher education, doing even more to ensure affordability and success for our students — the future leaders of Nebraska.”
Our Students, Our Future seeks gifts that will increase both immediate, expendable funds available for student scholarships, as well as permanently endowed scholarship funds that will enable the university to support many generations of students. In addition, the initiative seeks funding for university programs focused on helping students stay in school and complete their degree, as well as support for learning facilities that meet student interests and enhance the learning experience.
“Past and current support from University of Nebraska alumni and friends has been nothing short of phenomenal, and that generosity has helped position our university to meet the needs of our state and citizens,” said Brian Hastings, president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation. “Our Students, Our Future will build on that momentum through strategic, targeted investments in our students that will ensure affordable access to an excellent education, aid the university’s enrollment growth objectives, assist with student completion and success initiatives, and enhance the learning environment and student experience.”