Nebraska Impact | University of Nebraska

Nebraska’s Big Ten and World-Leading Land-Grant University

For more than 150 years, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has been transforming lives through the power of our academic programs and the global impact of our research and outreach. Thanks to the grit of our faculty, staff and students, we achieve glory that’s entwined with the state’s growth and development. Our upward momentum is building, and as a result, our impact on the state is multiplying – and all Nebraskans benefit.

Leadership Research Students / Alumni Outreach / Partnerships

Impact of Leadership

Nebraska Leads Water for Food Research

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is addressing the challenge of feeding massive population growth while using less water for food production and adapting to the changing climate.

See our impact in water and food

Only in Nebraska: Carson Center

Nebraska’s Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts earned HP/Educause designation, putting UNL in the company of MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth.

Visit the Carson Center site

Nebraska Engineering expanding with Kiewit

A gift from Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc., one of America’s largest and most respected construction and engineering firms, has made possible Nebraska's new $115 million engineering building.

Read about Kiewit Hall

Impact of Research

$2.9 Billion Annual Economic Impact In the State of Nebraska

1,668 Sponsored Awards, FY 2022
$340M Total research expenditures, FY 2022
1.5 MILLION Square feet of space for research
34% Increase in research expenditures in the past 10 years

FY 2022 Federal Expenditures by Agency

Industry-Sponsored Research

$19.8 Million Expenditures supported by industry sponsorship

$143 Million Annual economic impact

Students standing in a field with the word Grit behind them.

24% Increase in early career tenure-track faculty since 2012

Student discussing work with College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources professor in a classroom.

860 Jobs created statewide

Faculty discusses circuits at Makers conference.

NUtech Ventures

5.7 Million in licensing income in FY23

Top 100 in Patents For the seventh consecutive year, the University of Nebraska system is ranked among the top 100 academic institutions worldwide at No. 73 in earning U.S. patents. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the NU system 46 U.S. utility patents in 2023. – National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association

Nebraska Innovation Campus

Opened 2022: The Scarlet Hotel A new six-story, 154-room boutique hotel in the heart of Nebraska Innovation Campus.

$371.8MAnnual economic impact of NIC

58 Diverse private and public-sector partners

101 Student internships funded by NIC

Aerial view of Nebraska Innovation Campus

Impact of Access

Nearly 19,000 Undergrad Students

More than 4,000 Grad Students

320

Real-world software solutions have been developed on campus by students since 2001. – Design Studio in the Raikes School of Computer Science and Management

Nebraska has one of the nation’s leading undergraduate research programs – backed by more than one million dollars in annual funding – empowering students to work one-on-one with faculty on research that creates new knowledge and improves lives in Nebraska and beyond.

Inclusive Access & Open Education Resource Programs

Since 2019, affordable content programs have saved students an estimated $9.9 million on textbook costs and have replaced over 159,000 textbooks with affordable content.

Engler - Purposeful Entrepreneurship

More than
$145.7 Million
gross revenue generated since the inception of the program*

More than
$36.8 Million
gross revenue generated in 2021 alone*

*reported by 56 companies. Not all shared financials

86%

of alumni & students are more likely to become an employer because of Engler.

Five smiling Engler students sitting on stairs.

Engler-owned businesses employ 127 people

More than
230 Engler Alums
are
Living, Working
and
Growing Businesses
in Nebraska.

The university's Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program began in 2010 with a gift and challenge from Paul Engler, a Nebraska alumnus and Texas cattleman.

Impact of Alumni

80,000+Alumni work in Nebraska

Among employers that hire the most Husker graduates, all of the top 10 and 15 of the top 20 are Nebraska-based organizations. We draw new students in, and in turn, Nebraska employers can count on our grads for their talent needs.

Since its founding in 1869, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has awarded 321,608 degrees (May, 2024).

Graduates raise fists and cheer at commencement.

Impact of Commitment

Extension and Outreach

$6.2 million economic impact reported by the 8,000+ participants who took part in Nebraska Extension workshops on beef education.

The BeefWatch podcast has become a top-rated program globally. In 2022, it received 144,000+ unique downloads in 50 states and 78 countries.

444,000 Nebraskans attended programs or contacted local Extension professionals regarding pest, insect, and landscape / horticulture topics.
Nebraska Extension Early Childhood programming reached 202,922 Nebraska youth and 15,172 caregivers in 2022.

Empowering 140,000 Nebraska Youth

In Nebraska, where in more than ¾ of our counties, one in every two age-eligible youth are enrolled in 4-H, for a total enrollment reaching approximately 140,000 youth.

Leading Agricultural Education Programs

214 Nebraska high schools offer Ag Education/FFA, led by 248 teachers, the majority of which are Husker graduates, including 13 new UNL graduates serving in their first year as agricultural education teachers and FFA advisors in 2023-24.

Husker Scholars Program Supports About 2,000 Students

The Husker Scholars Program has enabled annual scholarship support from Husker Athletics for students not competing in intercollegiate athletics since 2018.