The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s downtown campus. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
It’s always stirring to watch Interstate 80 swell with fans on a Saturday. But this fall, the university that the Big Red faithful pass on their way to Memorial Stadium teeters on a slope to academic devastation.
UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett’s proposal to eliminate six academic programs —including the entire Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department — is no routine budget balancing. It signals the potential collapse of Nebraska’s claim to having a flagship university worthy of the name…