UNO touts $107 million expansion of engineering building as tool in fight to keep Nebraska's talent
During her annual state of the university address Thursday, the University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Joanne Li revealed plans for a major overhaul of the campus engineering building to help Nebraska build a high-tech workforce.
Li said planning is underway for a $107 million expansion and renovation of the Peter Kiewit Institute Building, which houses the UNO's information science and technology college as well as select engineering programs administered by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's engineering college.
She noted the PKI Building that began UNO's move south of Pacific Street into what is now called the school's Scott Campus was first constructed in 1997 — the year before Google was founded.
She also said projections are that the information technology college, which currently enrolls 1,000 undergraduates, will double in size by 2030. That makes expansion of the facility a critical strategic investment for meeting the state's workforce needs, she said.
"It is quite simple: if we want to respond to the state's dire need for more technology workers, we will all need to stand firm behind the PKI expansion," she said. "We must increase the input of students so we can expand the output of tech professionals."
Part of the future student growth will come from UNO offering one of the nation's first bachelor's degree programs in artificial intelligence. She noted UNO is now one of only 14 universities nationally set to offer an AI degree, joining a number of Ivy League institutions.
In an interview, Li said the first $5 million needed for planning of the PKI expansion is included in the university system's next two-year budget request to the Legislature. Another $22 million in state funds would later be sought for construction.
The rest of the cost — some $80 million — would come from the philanthropic community. She said there has already been much donor interest in the project.
Now in her fourth year as UNO chancellor, Li also spoke of the long-term budget challenges the university faces, saying she wants to work with new NU system President Jeffrey Gold to make sure the university has adequate funding to serve its students.
While UNO has long had a student body of around 15,000 students, she said university budget consultants suggest that based on its current budget model, its optimal enrollment would be around 12,500.
Rather than "turn our back on these students," she said she would instead advocate with university leadership to make sure UNO's funding needs are adequately met.
She noted during her remarks that while UNO educates 33% of the students in the university system, it receives about 11% of the annual state appropriation from the Legislature.
"I will continue to demand a fair distribution of resources, one that does not leave our students, faculty and staff disadvantaged, and one that allows us to grow," she said.
In the interview, Li said she was not suggesting that UNO should receive one-third of the university's state appropriation. But she said she looked forward to future discussions with Gold on what an appropriate allocation is.
She said she knows Gold understands UNO, having served four years as chancellor of the campus while he concurrently served as chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
"I believe Jeff is very open minded," she said in an interview.
During her remarks, Li expressed pride in UNO's role in helping its students — 85% of whom come from the Omaha metro area — climb the socio-economic ladder.
She noted 36% of UNO students are eligible for federal Pell grant assistance, and over one-third are first-generation college students. She said the university has also worked hard to keep tuition low, among the lowest in the state and the nation.
A Nebraska Department of Labor study found more than two thirds of UNO graduates are still living and working in Nebraska five years after graduation, the highest rate of any of the university's four campuses.
"This is proof that investing in UNO is investing in Nebraska's workforce," Li said. "We fight to bring talent in and keep talent for the state."
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