• The Truth About Stem Cell Research
• Campus Safety
• Innovation Park
• Business Growth
• Teaching
• In-state Tuition for Children of Undocumented Workers

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I believe stem-cell research offers great promise for finding cures that will improve living conditions, reduce suffering, and save lives. I believe NU should become a leader in researching the technologies that are already being used to treat nearly 70 diseases and conditions, including leukemia, other cancers, and blood disorders. NU should encourage research toward additional, promising treatments, such as emerging stem-cell treatments of heart disease, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injury, and more. Although I recognize the recent break-through research may permit scientists to avoid use of human embryos in the future, the scientists at UNMC who are doing this research attest that they are many years away from being able to do proper research without the use of embryos. The involved scientists should be allowed to continue using embryos left over from in vitro fertilization, which would otherwise be destroyed, until such time as they are clearly able to produce stem cells from other sources that achieve the objectives.

• Restricting researchers’ freedom to use ESC to reduce human suffering, cure diseases, and save lives will deny academic freedom, forfeit discovery opportunities, and cause leading scientists to avoid Nebraska.
• Embryonic stem cells (ESC) research is essential to finding therapeutic treatments for humans that have been successfully applied in animals.
• Only ESC are able to produce ALL of the different types of cells in the body by differentiating during reproduction.
• Recent addition of four genes to adult skin cells proved scientists can give cells many, but not all, characteristics.
• More than four genes are important to finding solutions and continued studies with ESC could provide the answers.
• Adult stem cell research provides part, but not all, of the answers.
• NU Board of Regents policies require adherence to federal funding restrictions to ESC lines existing on August 9, 2001.
• Over 400 ESC lines have been developed since August 2001 that do not require mouse feeder cells, are stable in culture, represent wide genetic diversity, and are not patented.
• UNMC utilizes ESC from in vitro fertilization efforts—using left over embryos that would be destroyed if not used for research.

Electronic Alerts

In order to create the safest environment possible, UNL offers all staff, students and campus personnel the ability to register cell phones, PDAs, and computers for simultaneous notification of problems, such as violence, severe weather alerts, gas leakages, or class cancellations.

This is an excellent solution to a complex problem that plagues campuses nationwide; but it is only the beginning. About 10,000 electronic devices have been registered, and approximately five to six alerts are issued annually. However, there may be as many as 30,000 such devices on campus, and as Regent, I would encourage a program under which all email addresses and cell phones are registered.

Background checks and weapon searches are necessary to maintain safety on the UNL campus. Currently, the university works to control the risks associated with campus violence through its threat assessment program in which risks manifested by behavior or background of troubled students, employees, and former employees are monitored and the potential sources are interviewed. As Regent, I would encourage the continuation of this important assessment program, including searches to locate weapons.

UNL has an excellent legal force of 31 commissioned officers, who are fully trained at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center. In addition, 15 community service officers work as security guards stationed in resident halls after hours. UNL’s police department shares a website and radio system with Lincoln Police Department and Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, and is able to call on additional support as needed. As Regent, I would encourage maintaining officers’ salaries at a level that is competitive with LPD and LCS (raised to 90% to stem attrition one year ago) in order to maintain the level of professional competence currently in place.

UNL Police Chief Owen Yardley reports that there are about 30 assaults per year, 90% of which involve persons who have imbibed alcohol. As Regent, I would encourage enforcement of the ban on alcohol use and possession on campus, with particular reference to residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses.

Approximately 600 security cameras monitor campus building interiors and exteriors, which provides a fairly reliable record of historical events; however, this design doesn’t prevent theft. Additionally, the cameras often reveal individuals with no legitimate purpose on the campus. Only a few of the campus buildings have electronic access locks requiring key cards, which is estimated to be available at a cost of $20,000-$30,000 per building depending upon the number of doors. As Regent, I would encourage equipping each building with electronic access locks in order to increase security for all campus structures.

While UNK’s Police Department is well-trained and professional, its police officers carry no firearms. As Regent, I would encourage UNK to investigate the costs and possible benefits of raising the level of police training and equipment availability to bring security on par with UNL. Federal grants are available to obtain such leading-edge technology as cameras on patrol cars and ear-mounted on Bluetooth devices, and I would encourage UNK to seek such funding to upgrade campus security.

UNO and UNMC have Security Departments, but rely upon Omaha Police Department officers to deal with on-campus law enforcement matters. As Regent, I would encourage UNO and UNMC to investigate whether OPD response is adequate for their needs, and, if not, look into the costs and possible benefits of raising the level of police training and equipment for campus security.

Innovation Park is a proposal that would include an area large enough to accommodate private buildings adjacent or proximate to research buildings such as the Beadle Center. Additional acres are not required to handle the foreseeable needs of UNL, alone, because the Antelope Valley development will convert many acres of flood plains from practice fields to usable construction sites. If nearby acres are acquired by UNL, there are many businesses that would take advantage of the opportunity to construct buildings within the research and technology park.

I believe the sales of land to private companies, along with the overhead and facilities portion of research grants and grants from the NU Foundation, will fund the construction and equipping of needed research buildings. UNL has received federal research grants exceeding $100 million in each of the last two fiscal years, and lacks facilities adequate to house the approved projects. Adding additional sites will encourage economic development, expand job opportunities, and provide a means for keeping UNL graduates in the state.

The 251-acre site currently occupied by the State Fairgrounds is an ideal location for that purpose. At the present time, the site is underutilized because the racetrack is too small to attract the best Thoroughbred horses, the fair buildings have not been maintained because of inadequate funding, and many of the facilities have been closed because of failure to meet zoning code standards and Americans with Disability Act access and rest room requirements.

With the Devaney Center on the State Fairgrounds, the management of that building is largely inadequate, both in terms of security staff and parking control. Placing the State Fairgrounds under UNL control would allow UNL to manage the Devaney Center with the same level of professionalism it is able to provide in and around Memorial Stadium.

Moving the State Fairgrounds to a UNL-owned site contiguous to the Lancaster County Events Center on 84th Street would allow for a sharing of facilities, while avoiding duplication. Constructing a mile-long track would encourage horse trainers to bring mounts that would otherwise race in more distant venues. While serving as Vice Chairman of the Nebraska State Racing Commission, I became familiar with the needs of the horse-racing industry, and believe this would encourage economic development in Lincoln, as evidenced by the endorsement of the proposed new track by the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

UNL may be willing to transfer to the State Fair Board about 400 acres at 84th Street in exchange for the 251 acres adjacent to its City Campus, which would allow for the creation of an Agriculture & Industry Events Center. This could attract auctions, auto shows, boat shows, rodeos, and a variety of Western-themed entertainment events. This would offer additional opportunities for economic development and job creation, along with the prospect that the combined facility could become cash-flow positive and self-sustaining.

As Regent, I would be supportive of creating Innovation Park, locating it at the site of the current State Fairgrounds, and exchanging land owned by UNL at 84th Street for the 251 acres adjacent to UNL’s City Campus.

The University of Nebraska research laboratories create technologies that are capable of being developed into products or methodologies that are valuable to private enterprise. One good example is Class.com, a 100%-University-owned, on-line high school course developer, of which I was the first Chairman. I helped launch an investment program that attracted 300 investors and $12 million. Class.com is now majority-owned by private investors, employs 25 people in Lincoln and sales personnel in other states, and has been profitable each of the past two years. As Regent, I would encourage such transfers of campus-developed business opportunities to private companies, which will benefit the local economy and return royalties and ownership benefits to the University.

Nebraska Angels is a group of private investors from Lincoln and Omaha who identify and co-invest in existing businesses or new companies using technologies licensed by NU at the early stages that are unattractive to venture capitalists. As a board member of Nebraska Angels, I’ve been active in seeking to create business opportunities that will encourage economic development in Nebraska, thus creating jobs and the means to recruit graduates to remain in the state. As Regent, I intend to encourage the expansion of technology transfer activities that will both benefit Nebraska’s economy and create opportunities for our graduates.

On-campus research has been emphasized at the University of Nebraska, which was a 2000 recommendation of the Vision 2020 Task Force Report on Research and Graduate Education, to which I was privileged to be appointed by UNL’s Chancellor. In Fiscal 2005 NU spent $360 million on research and was ranked 27th among public universities. It has been estimated that, for every $1 million spent on research, 31 jobs are created. At the rate NU invested in research in 2005, approximately 11,000 jobs were created in that year alone. As Regent, I would support continued efforts to attract additional research funding and job creation.

UNL and UNMC have had federal research grants approximating $100 million and $80 million, respectively, for each of the fiscal years ended June 30, 2006 and 2007, which is likely to cause NU’s overall ranking to rise from 27th among public universities (in 2005) when all figures are tabulated. The ability to attract research funds is dependent upon the quality and reputation of faculty members and scientists in residence. Recruiting and retaining such top-flight personnel requires an environment of academic and scientific freedom that encourages innovation. As Regent, I would support academic and scientific freedom and would oppose limitations that are predicated on religious preferences.

Embryonic stem-cell research has been a controversial area because of religious beliefs about whether life begins when the microscopic cell is fertilized. UNMC accesses embryos from fertility clinics that are left over after in vitro fertilization has succeeded without their use. Unless they are used for research, these embryos will be destroyed, which I believe would be a terrible waste. Stem cell technology is already being used to treat 70 conditions and diseases, including cells derived from bone marrow. Because this research could lead to cures for disease, reduced suffering, and saved lives, as Regent, I would support the federal government’s funding of the more than 400 stem-cell lines developed following the August 2001 limit on federal funding to the lines that then existed.

The University’s primary mission is teaching, and I’m pleased to see the progress that has been achieved in the recent past. By emphasizing recruitment of top students, retaining existing students, and improving graduation rates, UNL has experienced the highest enrollment it has seen in 10 years. Over the years my wife and I had the privilege to host at our home the top-10% high school students being recruited by UNL from Lincoln-area high schools. Becoming acquainted with some of these young people and learning some of their objectives was a wonderful experience. We are pleased that UNL has been rated by U.S. News & World Report as the number one public university in the nation in the percentage of applicants admitted who actually enroll. Among all universities, UNL ranked 6th, behind five private universities, including number one, Harvard University. This is a real tribute to the improved recruiting efforts by UNL and I am pleased to have played a small part.

The higher enrollment, at a time of deteriorating demographics in terms of the high school population, has not been at a sacrifice in quality. UNL has the highest average ACT scores among incoming freshman in its history. UNL has the highest-ever enrollment of National Merit Scholars, as well as the highest number enrolled in its honors program. UNL is a Research One institution, is academically ranked in the top 50 in the nation, and is a member of the prestigious American Association of Universities or AAU. As Regent, I will encourage continued strides toward excellence as outlined in the blueprint report of the Vision 2020 Task Force on Research and Graduate Education.

I have an appreciation for the University’s teaching mission, having taught Corporate Finance at the university level as an adjunct faculty member. I also taught Legal Writing to NU College of Law freshman during my senior year of law school. Over the years, I have lectured at the NU College of Law on subjects ranging from Advanced Corporations to Professional Ethics. During several years of service on the College of Law Alumni Council Executive Committee, I have been exposed to professors and students whose achievements we have sought to honor. During my second year as Alumni Council Chairman, I’m encouraged by the University’s continuing progress, and hope my seven grandchildren will follow their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, who have received from the University of Nebraska a combined 13 degrees.

In-state Tuition for Children of Undocumented Workers

Attacking schoolchildren seeking the education made available to all Nebraska residents is inappropriate for one who aspires to preside over an institution of higher learning. Immigration is an issue our federal government must address, but it is not within the jurisdiction of the Regents. Opposing “state-funded benefits for illegal immigrants,” which is quoted directly from my opponent's campaign mailer, is a legislative matter, and the 2008 Legislature rejected the attempt to do so. Anyone wishing to overturn the Legislature’s action should run for the Unicameral.

The Nebraska Legislature in 2006 established the standards for determining residence status for children of undocumented immigrants, and the NU Board of Regents voted 7-1 to adopt the standards: three years of Nebraska residence, Nebraska high school diploma, and commitment to apply for permanent residence status. The Board of Regents will not revisit this issue that (i) affects only 28 students system-wide (6 at UNL), (ii) would cost tens of thousands of dollars to administer, and (iii) could adversely affect recruitment of applicants offended by citizenship inquiries, including out-of-state students who, at 27% of UNL’s population, largely account for its enrollment growth.