Since the first week of May, Dr. Jeffrey Gold has been serving as chancellor for both UNMC and UNO.
Two months in, Gold says he is having an amazing experience as he continues to meet with students, staff and faculty from UNO as well as alumni and community members to learn more about the university.
Gold says each day that goes by he finds himself more and more impressed with the legacy and trajectory of UNO.
He says hundreds of areas of collaboration have been identified between UNMC and UNO as well as many potential areas of growth.
Gold says the biggest challenge he faces in the immediate future is prioritizing these opportunities.
"And then of course finding resources to support them. But the hard work, the fundamental work is identifying what I would call the low-hanging fruit, the near-wins that will reinforce the individual and the collective missions of both the Med Center and UNO. And then to look at other strategic areas for UNO that specifically serve the community, to get those prioritized as well.”
Gold says some areas for growth include new and collaborative degree programs, undergraduate programs that feed into health professions and tightening as well as increasing relationships with rural and urban community colleges.
So far, he says he hasn’t seen any roadblocks to making this transition extremely successful.