LINCOLN — After all the drama, in the end both Gov. Jim Pillen and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents united in offering praise for Dr. Jeffrey Gold as the anointed candidate to lead the university into the future.
The regents on Wednesday voted unanimously to name Gold — the chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center for the past decade — as the priority candidate to be the next president of the Nebraska university system.
The designation came six days after Pillen had criticized the regents for foot-dragging on the president search, blaming the board for the departure of NU Athletic Director Trev Alberts. And it came amid World-Herald and other media’s reporting that the regents were stuck in an ideological deadlock over who should be the university system’s leader.
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But minutes after the regents’ 8-0 vote Wednesday morning, Gold said he received a call from a pair of regents as he was at his desk in Omaha working on his annual State of UNMC address. Gold said he also later received a call from Pillen offering praise and support.
“I’m very, very excited to see what he’s going to accomplish,” said Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk, who offered the motion in support of Gold after the regents had spent about 100 minutes talking behind closed doors.
Scheer called Gold a “dynamite fit” for the job, praising his record as a proven leader, strategic thinker and his commitment to the university.
Pillen sent out a statement thanking the board for moving forward and praising Gold as “a visionary, patient-focused leader for UNMC.”
Gold later told reporters that Pillen was “extremely congratulatory” in their call together.
“We had a great conversation about the future of the state, and clearly his vision and my vision for the academic success of our state, the importance of our university, are highly, highly in line,” Gold said. He said he and Pillen share a belief in the power of the university to build the state’s future workforce and improve quality of life.
By the time the morning was over, the university not only had a new president-designate but a new athletic director in Lincoln, too — quite a turn of events from the previous week.
The vote Wednesday does not mark the end of the selection process. Under state law, Gold will be introduced to the campuses and vetted over a 30-day period before receiving a final vote from the regents.
Gold said he expected Chris Kabourek, the NU chief financial officer, to continue in the role of interim president for at least several more months. Both Gold and Pillen praised the work of the native Nebraskan in that role, including his quick work to identify and hire a replacement for Alberts on Wednesday, former University of Washington Athletic Director Troy Dannen.
If confirmed, Gold would lead a University of Nebraska system made up of four campuses: UNMC in Omaha and campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney. Together the campuses enroll nearly 50,000 students, employ 16,000 faculty and staff and have a budget exceeding $3 billion.
Tremendous growth under Gold at UNMC
For many in the university system, Gold, 71, needs no introduction. The president’s hat would be the fourth the New York City native has worn since he came to Nebraska a decade ago.
Other than the decision to marry his wife of 50 years, Gold on Wednesday called his decision to come to Nebraska the best of his life.
Gold came to UNMC from the University of Toledo, where was chancellor and executive vice president of biosciences and health affairs.
Since 2014, Gold has served as the chancellor of UNMC, and the state’s medical school and teaching hospital have seen tremendous growth. He also from 2017 to 2021 concurrently served as chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
In addition, since 2021, he has served as executive vice president and provost for the NU system. That position made him the chief academic officer for the NU system and liaison to the regents on all aspects of academic affairs.
At UNMC, Gold has seen the school add numerous facilities, among them the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, the Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center, the Munroe-Meyer Institute, the Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education.
A new $2 billion academic medical center building is on the drawing board. Gold has helped raise some $800 million in philanthropic dollars to make UNMC’s building boom possible.
The school has also expanded academic programs throughout the state, including opening a new rural health education complex at the University of Nebraska’s Kearney campus.
UNMC’s student body has grown by 1,000 — some 40%. Research grants and contracts have more than doubled from $89 million to $250 million.
Now Gold said he’s focused on building the entire NU system for future generations, describing himself as humbled and excited to get started.
As a first-generation college student from a working-class family, Gold said he well knows the value of an education and the importance of scholarship assistance for many to make that possible.
Like his predecessor — Ted Carter, who was announced as Ohio State’s new leader in August — he said he believes it’s important for NU’s flagship campus to get back into the Association of American Universities. That’s the consortium of top research universities that UNL was booted out of in 2011.
Gold: ‘We need to be a welcoming institution’
When asked by reporters, Gold also voiced support for university programs promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, which have come under attack on some campuses nationally.
Such programs need to be done “in a balanced and thoughtful way,” Gold said. “But we need to be a welcoming institution where people feel that they belong.”
Gold said he didn’t think there are any different opinions on that from the regents or the governor.
The governor and the regents have also said they wanted to see more longevity in the university’s next president, after both Carter and his predecessor lasted less than five years.
Gold said he has no plans to go anywhere. He said he’s been “a Nebraskan by choice” for the past 10 years, and he plans to continue to be.
In the end, the president’s search took 211 days. Despite Pillen’s criticism, that’s a few days fewer than it took the regents to choose Carter five years ago — a search that then-Regent Pillen led.
In a meeting with reporters, regents Chairman Rob Schafer of Beatrice flatly said “no” when asked if the governor had impacted the move Wednesday.
Schafer did not confirm the names of any other candidates in the search. World-Herald sources said Bryan Slone, the top executive of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kabourek were also in the running in recent weeks. Sources also said some regents a month ago reached out to U.S. Rep. Mike Flood to encourage him to consider the post — an indication of the split.
Schafer acknowledged there were differences of opinion among the regents. Over time, he said, “some hard conversations” brought them together. And ultimately, the regents chose a known commodity who has been a trusted leader in the NU system for a decade.
“He was pretty formidable from the start,” Schafer said of Gold. “He stood out and rose above.”
Gold said he now hopes his designation as priority candidate will bring a sense of stability to the university.
“We look forward to working with our leadership team to do exactly that,” he said.