Hank Bounds, Ph.D., who begins his tenure as the seventh president of the University of Nebraska today, will spend his first week on a “Getting to Know Nebraska” tour that will showcase the diversity of the state and introduce him to a wide range of university stakeholders.
President to visit CON-Scottsbluff
On Wednesday, Dr. Bounds will meet with Western Nebraska Community College President Todd Holcomb and senior staff and tour of UNMC College of Nursing West Division with Assistant Dean Susan Wilhelm, Ph.D., in Scottsbluff.
During his tour, which began Sunday in Mead and ends Friday in Nebraska City, Dr. Bounds will stop in some 20 Nebraska communities. He will meet with leaders in agriculture, business, education, civic organizations and the news media, and will visit a number of high schools, community colleges and state colleges in addition to NU campuses and research and extension facilities.
Dr. Bounds is joined on much of the tour by Ronnie Green, NU vice president and vice chancellor of the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Brian Hastings, president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation. Members of the Board of Regents and friends of the university will help host events and meetings across the state. Nebraskans are invited to follow updates from the tour here, where Bounds will keep a travel journal, and by following Bounds on Twitter at @hankbounds.
Dr. Bounds, who recently wrapped up duties as commissioner of higher education in Mississippi, a role he had held since 2009, said his Nebraska tour is an opportunity to listen and learn from citizens of the state about how the university and its stakeholders can work together to build a stronger future for Nebraskans.
“One of the things that has struck me most about this state is how much Nebraskans care about their university. We have an incredible opportunity to harness that passion and build the University of Nebraska into a giant in higher education — an institution doing more than ever to serve students and people in the state and around the world,” Dr. Bounds said. “I’m excited to spend time with faculty, staff, students, farmers and ranchers, business owners, community leaders, educators and many other alumni and friends who have made the University of Nebraska one of the nation’s leading institutions. Their ideas will help shape a new era for Nebraska’s public university.”