‘Nebraska is losing out’: UNL students, faculty plead their case to keep programs alive

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – As six academic programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln face the possibility of getting cut, the Community and Regional Planning program held a conference on Wednesday to plead their case for its survival.

“Many of them have said plainly, that they chose UNL so that they can remain in Nebraska and give back to the communities that raised them,” said Assistant Prof. Abigail Cochran, “To ensure that small towns and big cities alike have the tools they need to survive.”

Among those on the panel included Melissa Harrell, a 1992 graduate of the program who became the first sitting city administrator for the town of Wahoo, a role she has served for thirty years.

“There’s no doubt that my coursework in land planning and community building has been foundational in my work as a city administrator,” said Harrell.

Nebraska native Ben Allen is studying landscape and architecture at UNL and says he wants to use his degree globally.

“I’ve always been very concerned about things like global warming and kind of working on how our communities can work to remedy these issues,” he said.

Allen says his major deals with everything from public park design and urban planning to ecological restoration.

While current students will be able to finish their degree if the program is cut, Allen says that there are many options nationwide for future students to chose from, but says his home state will be the one feeling the loss most.

“Nebraska is losing out and UNL specifically is really losing the potential of these students,” he said, “You’re not getting access to these amazing individuals that are part of the program.”

Ian Nebesniak is secretary of the student chapter of the national society of landscape architects.

He described the work they’ve been doing to keep the program alive.

“We had a big meeting about getting the public eye on this programming and getting the word out about why it matters, why it should be protected, why we should stick around,” he said.

His group says they built a slogan, and made buttons and stickers.

“We had some people go out during tailgates for the Nebraska, Michigan football game and try and get on national television just to raise word about it,” said Nebesniak.

He says it made a difference; over 350 letters were received from statewide organizations in their support.

“I think there’s a good amount of optimism going in that we should hopefully be able to turn this around,” said Nebesniak.

The meeting ended with a suggested alternative to the cuts. A one unit model that would combine all four programs within the college.

This proposal is estimated to save the university nearly $150,000 annually.