The University of Nebraska system is the
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
university system
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Founded in 1869 with one campus in
Lincoln, the system has four university campuses, a two-year technical agriculture college, and a high school.
Schools
* The
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...
is the state's flagship,
land-grant university
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
with a Carnegie Research I/Research-Extensive status. It was founded in 1869 as the University of Nebraska.
* The
University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...
is the state's public urban university. It was founded in 1908 as
Omaha University, and joined the University of Nebraska system in 1968.
* The
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska S ...
is a university especially focused on undergraduate education, in a smaller setting. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State
Normal School at Kearney, and joined the University of Nebraska system in 1991.
* The
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became p ...
is located in
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
and was founded as the Omaha Medical College, a private medical school, in 1880. It became a part of the University of Nebraska system in 1902.
* The
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is located in
Curtis, Nebraska
Curtis is a city in Frontier County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 939 at the 2010 census.
Description
Curtis describes itself as "Nebraska's Easter City", and presents an annual pageant on Palm Sunday. The Nebraska College of ...
and was founded in 1965. It is a two-year degree-granting institution managed by the University of Nebraska pursuant to a 1994 agreement.
* The
University of Nebraska High School is an
online high school headquartered in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
. It was founded in 1929 as Independent Study High School.
Nebraska Institutes
The University of Nebraska has four interdisciplinary, University-wide institutes operating across the University of Nebraska system.
* Buffett Early Childhood Institute -
Samuel J. Meisels, founding executive director
* National Strategic Research Institute - Robert Hinson, USAF Lt. General (ret.), founding executive director
* Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute - Peter G. McCornick, executive director
* Rural Futures Institute - Chuck Schroeder, founding executive director
Two of NU's campuses also partner in the
Peter Kiewit Institute, a facility in Omaha, Nebraska that houses academic programs from both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Engineering and the University of Nebraska at Omaha's College of Information Science and Technology.
NU Online Education
Online Worldwide is the virtual connection point to more than 100 online degrees, certificates, endorsements, and minors offered by the four campuses of the University of Nebraska system.
University of Nebraska High School is an accredited, university-based online high school. The online college preparatory curriculum allows students to earn high school credit or a diploma from anywhere around the world.
History
On February 11, 1857, a group of citizens received permission from the
Nebraska Territorial Legislature
The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855, until February 18, 1867, in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory.
Major issues
Slavery
In 1854 the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Miss ...
to found the University of Nebraska at
Saratoga, Nebraska. However, when they did not complete the task of meeting in Saratoga and establishing a campus within one year they lost their permission to charter.
Today's University of Nebraska was founded in 1869 in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
. For the first 99 years of its existence, the University was synonymous with the Lincoln campus. In 1902, Omaha Medical College became part of the University of Nebraska system. The University reorganized into its present form in 1968 when it took control of the municipal
University of Omaha, which became the
University of Nebraska at Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public university, public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Omaha, Nebraska), Omaha Presbyterian Theological ...
.
Kearney State College
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska St ...
, the
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska S ...
, became the fourth member of the University of Nebraska system in 1991.
Governance
Board of Regents
The University of Nebraska system is governed by the board of regents, a twelve-member panel consisting of eight voting members and a non-voting student body president from each campus. Voting members are elected by district to six-year terms; elections are held in even-numbered years. The board of regents meets at Varner Hall on East Campus and supervises the operation, expenditures, and tuition rates of each university in the system.
The Board of Regents was established as a constitutional office in the 1875
Nebraska State Constitution. At the time, the regents were elected in partisan statewide elections to six-year terms.
In 1917, the legislature made the regental elections nonpartisan, and in 1920, voters ratified a constitutional amendment that provided for the election of the regents by district. The regents were elected from the state's congressional districts from 1923 to 1949, and from the
Nebraska Supreme Court
The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each ...
districts from 1949 to 1971. Beginning in 1971, the regents were elected in separate districts drawn by the state legislature, which are redrawn after each census. In 1974, voters approved a constitutional amendment that added student members to the board of regents as nonvoting members.
President
The president of the University of Nebraska system is appointed by and reports to the board of regents. The position was created in 1968 when the
Municipal University of Omaha and the
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became p ...
were absorbed into the University of Nebraska to create a state-wide system.
Clifford M. Hardin was the first president and
Ronald Roskens was the longest-tenured.
Jeffrey P. Gold has been serving as Nebraska's president since July 1, 2024.
See also
*
Nebraska State College System, the other state institution of higher education
References
External links
*
{{authority control
University of Nebraska
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
Public university systems in the United States