6 News Exclusive: A conversation with UNO chancellor Dr. Joanne Li

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Dr. Joanne Li -- Jo, as she asks to be called -- stepped into her first chancellorship in the middle of a pandemic last June.

6 News sat down at her office earlier this week and covered a variety of topics, starting with UNO’s approach to the changing higher education landscape.

“You have a wonderful curriculum that you provide timely information and skills for students,” Li said. “Second thing is we go back to the internship of some kind that explains a learning opportunity...[the] student can really practice and engage but the third piece is going to want to put full front to our partners in the community, is the cultural experience we want to develop a professional...so [they] feel like ‘okay, I can see that I can start my career here, I have the sense of affinity.”

Urban-campus Omaha is a distant second to UNL in terms of student population -- then there’s the unrivaled popularity of the Huskers. But Li is more focused on lower tuition, smaller debt loads for graduates, and higher acceptance rates for those who want to be Mavericks.

The first Asian-American to hold an executive leadership post in the University of Nebraska system, Li says increased diversity on UNO’s campus reflects demands of the global workforce.

“Our education should be by inclusion, not exclusion,” Li said. “We believe that to be able to serve an urban city and many places beyond, could be rural Nebraska, to provide that quality but affordable education...it’s really our mission. So I think of this as something that is not Lincoln versus Omaha or Kearney versus Omaha.”

The chancellor cites the success of UNO’s first Future of Work Symposium in November, providing students with what she calls “direct conversations” with industry leaders. This year’s event is scheduled for April.

Watch the full interview with Dr. Joanne Li here.

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