August 19, 2020
To our students, faculty and staff: welcome to fall 2020 semester!
I want to extend a special welcome to our roughly 5,500 new Huskers. We are so glad you chose the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and we want you to succeed in every way.
Thank you to everyone in our university community for the amazing work you’ve done to make it possible to have a safe on-campus experience — in our classrooms, our residence halls, our dining facilities and across all of our beautiful campuses. There have been months of incredibly detailed planning to get to this week, and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of your extra efforts. Thank you.
To our students, we’re counting on you.
I understand the frustration caused by this pandemic. It has disrupted your daily lives and your expectations for a full college experience. College is meant to be a socially engaging and learning experience — not a socially distanced one. But if we act like this is any other year, the experience of being on campus will likely close down. We have seen other universities have to change course and go all online because of a few large parties or crowded bars — that could happen here, too.
Even though we are back on campus, and we are all so glad for that, we are not back to normal. You hold the success of this semester in your hands. It’s a hard truth, but it’s the truth. Your responsible behavior will be key.
To succeed, we must be smart, and we must be united in our response. We will only be successful if ALL OF US — whether on campus or off campus — practice the necessary safety measures.
To our faculty and our staff, I can’t thank you enough. I know there was an incredible amount of planning that went into getting ready for this unique fall semester that we now have. You have shown ingenuity, creativity and flexibility. You’ve been here, across all of our campuses, to welcome us back — thank you.
As a UNL community, we are united in our Cornhusker Commitment to ourselves and to each other:
- to stay safe, wear a mask and practice social distancing — both on campus and off campus in the community
- to monitor ourselves for symptoms, to wash our hands and to use good hygiene
- to make use of the free on-campus COVID-19 testing if you show any symptoms
Let’s all continue to work together to protect our shared opportunity for teaching, learning, innovation and discovery.
And as we go forward into carefully planned but uncharted waters, let’s always remember to give each other a good measure of grace and of goodwill.
Most of all, let’s enjoy the opportunity to be here on our campuses and have a great semester!
I know we can do this. We are Cornhusker Committed.
Ronnie D. Green, Ph.D.
Chancellor