University leaders, students, alumni and other supporters met with legislators in Lincoln Wednesday as part of “I Love NU Day,” the university’s annual visit to the capitol.
After a welcome from Nebraska State Sens. Teresa Ibach and Jason Prokop, NU’s four student regents spoke to university supporters.
“Money invested in the university is money well-spent,” said UNMC’s student regent, Pranita Devaraju. “UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are one of the largest employers in the state. From Memorial Stadium to our law school to our agriculture program to health training, the university is Nebraska.”
University Of Nebraska President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, stressed the mission of the university.
“We are a critical asset to the state of Nebraska,” he said. “A recent study showed that for every dollar that goes into the university writ large, $10 is returned to the economy of the state of Nebraska. For every dollar that goes into scientific research, $16 goes into the economy of the state of Nebraska. Those are incredibly powerful statistics.”
Farzana Afrin Bithi, an MPH student and student leader, said she wanted to come to the capitol to speak about the importance of the university and the public working hand in hand to improve the health of Nebraskans, while Jordan Knapp, chief of staff for the UNMC Student Senate, said he wanted to share the story of the powerful impact the university had in his own life.
UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, who attended and spoke with several state senators himself, said he was pleased to see the engagement of UNMC students such as Devaraju, Afrin Bithi and Knapp.
“I’m delighted that they took the time to come,” he said. “Students’ voices are so critical at a time like this.”
The day ended with an ice cream social featuring the flavor “I Love NU a Latte,” provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dairy Store.