UNL chancellor discusses budget cuts at Lincoln chamber event

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett spoke to the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday about many different topics, the biggest one being about money.

At the Face the Chamber event at the Lincoln Country Club, he said the university has a $2.9 billion annual economic impact on the state.

But Bennett said UNL’s structural budget is $12 million in the hole.

He said it’s important to be fiscally responsible, something he said the university has been lacking.

“It’s no secret to many people in the community that we have had a structural budget shortfall for many years,” Bennett said. “For whatever reason, we had never addressed it.”

Bennett said officials are looking at streamlining and reducing redundancy across the university.

He said as of right now, there won’t be any programs cut, but certain areas across campus will see a reduction in money.

On the bright side, Bennett said the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to make Lincoln the home of a Center of Excellence focusing on precision agriculture and regenerative ag.

The government would put $160 million into the project.