# University of Nebraska system

The University of Nebraska system is the public university system of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Founded in 1869 with one campus in Lincoln, the system has four university campuses, a two-year technical agriculture college, and a high school.

## Schools

* The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is the state's flagship, land-grant university with a Carnegie Research I/Research-Extensive status. It was founded in 1869 as the University of Nebraska.
* The University of Nebraska Omaha is the state's public urban university. It was founded in 1908 as Omaha University, and joined the University of Nebraska system in 1968.
* The University of Nebraska at Kearney is a university especially focused on undergraduate education, in a smaller setting. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney, and joined the University of Nebraska system in 1991.
* The University of Nebraska Medical Center is located in Omaha and was founded as the Omaha Medical College, a private medical school, in 1880. It became a part of the University of Nebraska system in 1902.
* The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is located in Curtis, Nebraska and was founded in 1965. It is a two-year degree-granting institution managed by the University of Nebraska pursuant to a 1994 agreement.
* The University of Nebraska High School is an online high school headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1929 as Independent Study High School.

## Nebraska Institutes

The University of Nebraska has four interdisciplinary, University-wide institutes operating across the University of Nebraska system.
* Buffett Early Childhood Institute - Samuel J. Meisels, founding executive director
* National Strategic Research Institute - Robert Hinson, USAF Lt. General (ret.), founding executive director
* Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute - Peter G. McCornick, executive director
* Rural Futures Institute - Chuck Schroeder, founding executive director
Two of NU's campuses also partner in the Peter Kiewit Institute, a facility in Omaha, Nebraska that houses academic programs from both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Engineering and the University of Nebraska at Omaha's College of Information Science and Technology.

## NU Online Education

Online Worldwide is the virtual connection point to more than 100 online degrees, certificates, endorsements, and minors offered by the four campuses of the University of Nebraska system.
University of Nebraska High School is an accredited, university-based online high school. The online college preparatory curriculum allows students to earn high school credit or a diploma from anywhere around the world.

## History

On February 11, 1857, a group of citizens received permission from the Nebraska Territorial Legislature to found the University of Nebraska at Saratoga, Nebraska. However, when they did not complete the task of meeting in Saratoga and establishing a campus within one year they lost their permission to charter.
Today's University of Nebraska was founded in 1869 in Lincoln, Nebraska. For the first 99 years of its existence, the University was synonymous with the Lincoln campus. In 1902, Omaha Medical College became part of the University of Nebraska system. The University reorganized into its present form in 1968 when it took control of the municipal University of Omaha, which became the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Kearney State College, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, became the fourth member of the University of Nebraska system in 1991.

## Governance
### Board of Regents

The University of Nebraska system is governed by the board of regents, a twelve-member panel consisting of eight voting members and a non-voting student body president from each campus. Voting members are elected by district to six-year terms; elections are held in even-numbered years. The board of regents meets at Varner Hall on East Campus and supervises the operation, expenditures, and tuition rates of each university in the system.
The Board of Regents was established as a constitutional office in the 1875 Nebraska State Constitution. At the time, the regents were elected in partisan statewide elections to six-year terms. In 1917, the legislature made the regental elections nonpartisan, and in 1920, voters ratified a constitutional amendment that provided for the election of the regents by district. The regents were elected from the state's congressional districts from 1923 to 1949, and from the Nebraska Supreme Court districts from 1949 to 1971. Beginning in 1971, the regents were elected in separate districts drawn by the state legislature, which are redrawn after each census. In 1974, voters approved a constitutional amendment that added student members to the board of regents as nonvoting members.
University of Nebraska Board of Regents :
| District | Name | Elected | Seat up |
| District 1 | Timothy Clare | 2020 | 2026 |
| District 2 | Jack Stark | 2020 | 2026 |
| District 3 | Jim Scheer | 2024 | 2030 |
| District 4 | Elizabeth O'Connor | 2024 | 2030 |
| District 5 | Robert Schafer, Chair | 2024 | 2030 |
| District 6 | Paul Kenney, Vice Chair | 2022 | 2028 |
| District 7 | Kathy Wilmot | 2022 | 2028 |
| District 8 | Barbara Weitz | 2024 | 2030 |
| University of Nebraska at Kearney | Sam Schroeder | N/A | N/A |
| University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Elizabeth Herbin | N/A | N/A |
| University of Nebraska Medical Center | Pranita Devaraju | N/A | N/A |
| University of Nebraska at Omaha | Ishani Adidam | N/A | N/A |

### President

The president of the University of Nebraska system is appointed by and reports to the board of regents. The position was created in 1968 when the Municipal University of Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center were absorbed into the University of Nebraska to create a state-wide system. Clifford M. Hardin was the first president and Ronald Roskens was the longest-tenured. Jeffrey P. Gold has been serving as Nebraska's president since July 1, 2024.