All four incumbent University of Nebraska regents maintain leads in Tuesday election
Four seats on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents are up for election Nov. 5, three of which are contested. Top row from left, Zach Mellender of Omaha and Regent Elizabeth O'Connor of Omaha. Bottom row, from left, Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk, Jim Rogers of Omaha, Rob Schafer of Beatrice and Barbara Weitz of Omaha. Not pictured: Gary Rogge of Auburn. (Photos courtesy of the candidates; Campus photo by Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — All four incumbent members of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents who were up for election this fall appeared likely to return based on Tuesday's election results.
Regents Elizabeth O'Connor of Omaha, Rob Schafer of Beatrice and Barbara Weitz of Omaha all were ahead of their challengers. Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk, appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen to fill Pillen's seat on the board when he ascended to the governor's office, ran unopposed.
The eight-member board oversees the NU system, which includes four major campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, as well as the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.
Schafer, first appointed to the board in 2013 before winning a special election in 2014 and a full term in 2018, faced the toughest challenge from Gary Rogge, 78, a retired farmer from Auburn for the southeast Nebraska District 5 seat.
Schafer, 56, is an attorney with nearly 40 years of active military service. He is the current chair of the Board of Regents.
Weitz, 76, first elected to the board in 2018, is a retired UNO faculty member whose family runs a large philanthropic and community-focused organization in Omaha.
She faced Zach Mellender, 29, who oversees technology and data at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and is a member of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission. The District 8 seat is in central Douglas County.
O'Connor, 34, was first elected to the board in 2018. She is a deputy Douglas County attorney and a former University of Nebraska at Omaha student regent.
O'Connor led Jim Rogers, 61, who retired from teaching at UNO last year, where he served most recently as chair of the mathematics department. The District 4 seat is in central Douglas County
