Douglas A. Kristensen, J.D.
Chancellor
We have long taken great pride in, and been committed to, being one of the nation’s premier undergraduate institutions with excellent graduate education, scholarship and public service. That on-going commitment to our core values as an institution has elevated the university to a new level of distinction.
For the second year in a row, UNK is ranked a “Top 10 Public Regional University in the Midwest” by U.S. News & World Report, a category defined as the very best master’s-level universities. The ranking was announced in the magazine’s annual “Best Colleges” edition.
To earn this distinction, we competed with universities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin for inclusion on this prestigious list. Achieving this ranking among such a distinguished group of peers is certainly a tribute to the quality of our faculty, staff and students. And, even in a period of relative austerity, the energy, enthusiasm and support of so many people, on and off campus, has kept our university progressing toward ever higher levels of excellence.
For example, our Department of Music and Performing Arts celebrated its largest ever financial gift last year, a gift that totaled $2.5 million. In addition to establishing the Ronald J. Crocker Chair in Orchestra, it represents a perpetual legacy that will support the
music program and provide scholarships for top-achieving students of music.
The research, scholarship and creative activity of our faculty provide the foundation of our teaching and inspire not only the lives of our students, but the lives of people across the state, the region and the nation.
This fourth issue of New Frontiers features only a small sampling of our scholars and their work. In these pages, you will read about outstanding faculty whose research has been published in multiple languages around the world and across the nation.
There is only one way to describe the University of Nebraska at Kearney these days–we are making progress on all fronts. There is much to celebrate at UNK!
