Jeffrey Gold, installed as University of Nebraska president, seeks 'a better tomorrow' (2024)

LINCOLN— In Dr. Jeffrey Gold's assessment, a culture of excellence is deeply embedded in the the 155-year history of the University of Nebraska system.

Generations of students feel the effects of that excellence on a daily basis, Gold said, as do the faculty, staff and leadership pushing NU forward.

Nebraskans at large have been impacted by cutting-edge research into agriculture, medicine or the military, or have seen excellence on the field at Memorial Stadium in the fall seasons, he added.

But Gold, who was formally installed as NU's ninth president Thursday at a ceremony in the Rotunda at the State Capitol, said the university can never stop its pursuit to do more.

"Our greatest mistake would be to rest on our laurels and say, 'excellent is good enough,'" Gold told federal and state dignitaries, NU faculty and staff, business leaders, philanthropists and alumni. "Our legacy of excellence is a solid foundation to build upon, but it is not adequate.

"Our legacy serves as an inspiration, but not as a road map for the pathway ahead," he added.

Gold, who was installed as the chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center 10 years earlier — down to the day and hour — asked the NU community to go "chart an odyssey" from excellent to extraordinary.

That odyssey, he said, would focus on "a clear, easy to understand, easy to describe horizon with clearly established priorities."

The horizon would be evident in every classroom, research lab, extension office, medical clinic and playing field across NU's statewide campus, Gold said.

"This odyssey before us may seem highly challenging and even daunting, but it is also very much both exciting and empowering," he said. "It is filled with both certainty and as a healthy dose of the unknown."

Quoting President Abraham Lincoln, Gold said, "The only way to truly see the future is to build it."

On Thursday, others who spoke during Gold's investiture ceremony heaped praise on NU's new leader as a visionary with the intellect and character to accomplish those goals.

Retired Gen. John Hyten, the 11th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who had a 40-year career in the U.S. Air Force, including as commander of U.S. Strategic Command from 2016 to 2019, said he witnessed Gold's leadership and compassion firsthand.

During a change of command ceremony, Hyten said Gold invited him to tour UNMC and see the work being done there with the National Strategic Research Institute, NU's military-affiliated research center.

"And then he told me that if I or anyone in my command had a problem with medical care in Nebraska to just call him," Hyten said. "He'd be able to help."

A short time later at STRATCOM, Hyten told the audience, his wife, Laura, met a young soldier who was struggling to navigate the military's health care system for his two young children with special medical needs.

Digging out Gold's card, Hyten said he called the number and the UNMC chancellor answered, giving the STRATCOM leader permission to pass along his contact information.

The soldier's children saw a specialist the next day, Hyten said.

"That meant everything to me, but more importantly, it meant everything to that soldier," Hyten said. "Because that soldier one day is confused, upset ... just worried about his kids and his family and how (to) take care of them, and the next day everything is solved."

Hyten said that instance was one of many times Gold demonstrated the strength of his character throughout their time working together, adding that watching NU's new president interact with students, faculty and staff is "an uplifting experience."

"Every person he talks to gets his complete attention," he said. "They love it, and he loves it."

Other speakers on Thursday said Gold also approaches each interaction like a physician meeting with a patient.

Sen. Deb Fischer said Gold "puts his heart and soul into his work," and will continue to do so at NU.

"President Gold put his roots down here at our University of Nebraska because he sees both its brilliance and its great potential," she said.

Gold said his experiences as a pediatric heart surgeon, an educator, the leader of an academic health center and at the top of Nebraska's public university system, have put him in position to imagine "a better tomorrow."

He asked everyone gathered in the Rotunda,which he said was chosen as the site for his investiture to signal to the state their university will "always be of, with, and for all the people,"to join him.

"Nebraskans expect us to set bold goals for a university-wide culture that supports and embraces all who join us on this odyssey to extraordinary," he said.