Health Care Reform and a UNL education

On Oct. 9 David Axelrod, senior advisor to President Obama, gave the Peter J. Hoagland lecture at UNL. As moderator of the event I posed the audience questions to him. One of the questions was "Will there be health care reform this year?" Sen. Ben Nelson was sitting in the front row at the talk and Mr. Axelrod turned to Sen. Nelson and asked him light heartedly if he wanted to answer the question. How prophetic!

Looking back at the semester the Axelrod lecture was one of many great things that happened in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students here get an education that I am very proud to be a small part of. Thanks to the faculty, staff, students and friends of the college that make it all possible.

Best wishes to all for the holiday season.

Final Exam Week

Students scurry around campus looking very serious. Not only is it the extremely cold weather but it is finals week. I even dreamed last night that I overslept and missed giving my students their Calc II final - and I haven't taught Calc II in over ten years. We all are ready for the semester to end! Hang in there it will be over soon.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Not only do I get to eat well (my mom's cranberries are to die for) but I get to see family and take the opportunity to reflect on what I have to be thankful for.

It also signals the fact that another semester is about to end. This gives me a chance to think about how well things are going in the college. Grant dollars up, as are research accomplishments more generally. Moreover the college had the highest enrollment increase of any college at UNL this year. I couldn't be more pleased with how the college is doing.

Best wishes for an excellent end to your semester and/or year, as the case may be.