Panhandle Post by Jake Schrantz
ALLIANCE, NE - The final stop on the busy summer tour around Nebraska for University of Nebraska System President, Jeff Gold, saw Alliance community members voice their thoughts on higher education and the future of Nebraska as a whole, at 8 a.m. on July 25, 2025 at the West Side Event Center in Alliance, NE.
Gold started the conversation off by reminiscing on the past of higher education, and explained how a lot has changed even in the past few years. Gold said he has seen an increase in the notion of whether or not higher education is worth spending 4+ years in school, as opposed to working right out of high school.
What started as a one-sided conversation quickly grew into a civilized back-and-forth between members of the Alliance community and Gold. One of the biggest concerns that was raised was how many students were going to school within the Nebraska system, and deciding to then leave the state for work. Gold's response didn't dance around the question.
"Bluntly, we're failing," said Gold when asked about the ability to keep graduates in state.
The 12-year Nebraska leader said approximately 4,500 people are leaving the state post-grad, which is a large reason why this issue is high on the list of concerns within the University of Nebraska System.
Gold also answered questions about small town life. A concern talked about was getting top-tier medical care. As a heart surgeon himself, Gold showed strong feelings of empathy for this specific concern. He talked about one of the issues they are working on is finding appropriate housing for health care workers when on rotations in rural Nebraska.
The NU System president was asked about the SNAP-Ed funding being cut and what the future looked like for workers and students alike who are affected by the loss of this funding.
"We're doing everything we can to absorb those people into other openings that we may have, but not to mince words, people are going to lose their jobs," said Gold.
"It's really so sad because these people work really hard. Many of them are students who are employed doing this. And having a nutritional support program, particularly for young families in rural communities, is a really important thing to do. I can only hope that some of that responsibility will be absorbed by the local communities."
Gold wrapped up the statewide tour he had been on since early July in Alliance, NE this morning by thanking everyone for coming, and offering to help in any way he could. As the fall semester draws near, the concerns from communities in western Nebraska continue to be considered as students return to school in August.