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Faculty and community speakers denounce UNL program‑cut proposals; several call for pause and independent review
Summary
During the Board of Regents public‑comment period, 21 speakers criticized proposed program eliminations at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, alleging lack of shared governance, flawed metrics, and threats to statewide services; one speaker accused Regent Elizabeth O'Connor of causing a serious crash and called for her resignation while others urged due process.
More than 20 faculty, staff, students and community members spoke during the Oct. 3 public‑comment period at the Board of Regents meeting in Omaha, delivering sustained criticism of proposed program eliminations at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and calling for greater transparency and independent review.
Sarah Zuckerman, associate professor of educational administration at UNL and president of the UNL AAUP chapter, said faculty have had “no meaningful involvement” in decisions about program eliminations and that the process relied on inaccurate data. “Shared governance is a collaboration between faculty and administrators…Currently at UNL, faculty have not had meaningful involvement in determining the best use of the university’s resources,” she said.
Multiple faculty speakers echoed those concerns. Robert Zott urged the board not to cut the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, saying the unit’s “cutting‑edge, life‑saving research” informs tornado forecasting and public safety. Faculty statisticians including Kent Eskridge and Heikki Hoffman urged the regents to pause the process and bring in independent statistical oversight, arguing the department rankings and input data were flawed and that affected units had not been given access to the underlying data for verification.
Speakers from the Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design program and other affected units described the local economic and workforce impacts of proposed cuts; presenters emphasized student pathways, extension work and industry partnerships that they said would suffer if programs were eliminated.
The public comment segment also included a contentious personal accusation. A speaker, Rico Mountain, alleged that Regent Elizabeth O’Connor caused a May 21, 2025 crash that injured family members and said O’Connor’s blood alcohol content was 0.321; Mountain urged the board to demand O’Connor’s resignation. Another commenter called for O’Connor to resign; supporters of O’Connor also addressed the board: Joseph Neri said it is “premature and unfair” to remove an elected official while charges are pending and urged adherence to due process.
The board chair closed public comment after the scheduled speakers and proceeded to the consent and administrative agenda. Several contested items on UNL’s recommended cuts were discussed later in committee and administrative sections of the agenda; during the meeting the board approved some program and degree changes for UNK and UNL and referred other matters to committee processes.
Speakers asked the board to delay decisions, provide access to the data and metrics used to rank departments, and involve external statistical review. The transcript shows no immediate board action to pause the review process during the meeting.
