LINCOLN, Neb. – The NU Board of Regents voted to eliminate four academic programs and combine four others into two interdisciplinary schools on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus during its regular meeting on Friday, Dec. 5.
The units approved for elimination — Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Educational Administration; Statistics; and Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design — were proposed by UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett as part of an effort to achieve $6.74 million in academic program cuts, contributing to a broader goal of $27.5 million in budget savings across the campus. Those cost-saving measures also include a voluntary separation incentive plan, the extension of a hiring freeze and other cost-reduction actions.
In addition, the board approved plans to merge the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology to create one interdisciplinary school and to combine the Departments of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication into a second interdisciplinary school. The framework and naming for both new schools will be developed in spring 2026…