UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen announces his retirement after 22 years

FULL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHANCELLOR KRISTENSEN

KEARNEY, Neb. — After 22 years, the longest-serving chancellor in University of Nebraska system history is set to retire.

Former university president Dennis Smith selected Doug Kristensen as University of Nebraska at Kearney chancellor in 2002. He had no background in academic administration. The Minden native was a lawyer and former speaker of the legislature. More than two decades later, Kristensen leaves having made an extraordinary impact on the university that represents his home area.

“Now is the right time for me and it’s the right time for Terri and that’s more important than anything else,” Kristensen said. "I just wanted to say thank you for the honor of a lifetime. It’s been a privilege to serve as your chancellor for 22 years.”

Kristensen’s announcement was a full-circle moment. He made his first address to the UNK campus at the recital hall of the fine arts building. This one ended with a standing ovation.

“At this point, I’m really not up for a whole lot of questions," Kristensen said. "But I am up for a very sincere thank you. I’m glad you came today and go Lopers.”

Kristensen will serve through the spring and retire at the end of the academic year. By then, he plans to have finished a round of budget reductions and found a permanent vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“There’s never an end of projects or ideas — we’ve got lots of things on the drawing board, we’ve got lots of ideas," Kristensen said. "But this is a pretty logical place for me to say thank you and I appreciate the honor of being chancellor.”

His exit comes after seeing one of his biggest projects become reality. Construction is underway on a $95 million facility meant to train the next generation of rural Nebraska’s healthcare workers. At the request of donors Bill and Ruth Scott, it will be named after Kristensen.

“It’s probably the largest, most meaningful thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Kristensen said.

Under Kristensen’s watch, UNK went from barely noticed by US News and World Report, to consistently being top 10 in its category.  He guided more than $360 million in campus construction and renovation and created new programs in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Similar to national trends, UNK’s enrollment has dropped by 16 percent since peaking in 2012. The school is also in the midst of making $4.3 million in budget cuts.

Despite challenges, Kristensen is optimistic about the future.

“We can become very good and prioritize our offerings," Kristensen said. "I think that will increase our tuitions, it will increase the number of students we bring and I think it will help us attract good faculty.”

As his era closes, Kristensen believes the next chapter at UNK is poised to be even better.

“The chancellor is not the university," Kristensen said. "It’s the collection of faculty, staff, students and the community members, donors and alumni who all are very supportive of the institution. They’ve never, I think, been in better shape than now.”

Kristensen says he doesn’t plan to be involved with selecting the next chancellor. He expects that responsibility to fall on interim system president Chris Kabourek. 

Kristensen says UNK will always be a part of him. He plans to continue to be associated with the university and help in whatever ways he can.

 

----- original story 12/6/23 4:05 p.m. --------

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The top official at the University of Nebraska-Kearney is set to retire after more than 20 years at the helm of the state’s third-largest university.

Chancellor Doug Kristensen announced on Wednesday that he plans to retire at the end of the academic year. He has served as chancellor since 2002, making him the longest tenured chancellor in University of Nebraska history.

“Terri and I have decided this is the right time to retire. We feel good,” Kristensen said. “This will give me some time to… just take a little bit of time away and then I’ll come back and I’ll still be associated with the university, there’s still plenty of things I can do to help the university.”

The retirement announcement comes as the University of Nebraska system is looking for a new president. Ted Carter’s tenure will finish at the end of the year and Chris Kabourek is the university’s interim president.

Kristensen’s 22 years at UNK has been marked by extensive renovations to most of the school’s buildings. UNK has expanded its physical footprint with the creation of University Village and the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center. Most recently, UNK broke ground on a $95 million rural health education facility. The NU Regents voted on Friday to name the facility after Kristensen.

“It’s probably the largest, most meaningful thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Kristensen said.

University of Nebraska Regent Paul Kenney, who represents the Kearney area, issued a statement on Kristensen's announcement.

"I can't overstate the impact Chancellor Kristensen has made for Nebraska," Kenney said. "He has been an incredible leader for our students and for rural Nebraska. It's so important that we have a leader who understands the unique needs of rural communities and can be an advocate for them. Doug has been that leader. I congratulate him and Terri on this decision and I'm excited about UNK's continued success for the benefit of our state."

Kristensen is optimistic for the future of the university.

“This is going to be a part of me for the rest of my life. We’re in great position," Kristensen said. "The chancellor is not the university. It’s the collection of faculty, staff, students and the community members, donors and alumni. They’ve never, I think, been in better shape than now.”

We will have more details tonight on News Channel Nebraska. Our exclusive one-on-one interview with Chancellor Kristensen will air on Thursday.