Dear UNL Community:

It has been heartwarming to see our campus community rallying to support our fellow Nebraskans as we begin the long road to recovery from the historic floods and blizzard conditions which have affected the lives, livelihoods, and property of so many people and communities across the state and region.

Many in our UNL community have been directly impacted, and I wanted to highlight specific steps that have been taken to provide assistance.

We hope that this natural disaster will not impact the ability of any UNL student to successfully continue their studies and complete their degree. I want to thank Executive Vice Chancellor Donde Plowman and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Laurie Bellows for their quick actions to help ensure student success. For those students who have been unable to return to campus due to impacts from the flooding, we have asked faculty to provide flexibility in allowing these students to complete this semester’s courses. We have also taken steps to help ensure the impacts of the flooding do not impede new students from enrolling at our university. More information on the resources available can be found here. I am thankful to our faculty and staff for working diligently to help across our current and prospective students.

The University of Nebraska Foundation has set up a University of Nebraska Emergency Assistance Fund to support students, faculty and staff who face financial hardships from a crisis or natural disaster.

So many of you have already rallied to support our neighbors across Nebraska. In particular, I want to highlight the efforts of our outstanding Nebraska Extension faculty and staff. From day one, they have been diligently working in affected counties to provide expertise, assistance and resources to help Nebraskans recover. I am proud that our own Chuck Hibberd, Dean and Director of Nebraska Extension, has been tapped to spearhead and coordinate the response of the University of Nebraska system to this disaster.

If you are part of a group or organization that would like to volunteer to help in impacted communities, please reach out to Linda Moody, Assistant Director of the office of Civic Engagement, lmoody2@unl.edu. She will be working with Dean Hibberd and his response team to ensure the goodwill of our university community is matched to the most important needs identified across Nebraska.

While the floodwaters are receding, the recovery for Nebraska will take many months and years ahead. We are in this for the long haul, and are committed to bringing our expertise, hard work and resources to help the people of this state rebuild.

I am already so humbled by the giving work being undertaken by so many in our UNL community. And we will continue to communicate as additional resources or opportunities to assist become available.

We all stick together in all kinds of weather – NebraskaStrong.