The new year brought big changes to Nebraska’s University system.
Last August, former systems president for University of Nebraska Ted Carter announced he would be leaving the cornhusker state to become President of Ohio State University.
In December, the Board of Regents unanimously approved Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chris Kabourek to fill the role of interim president, once Carter stepped down on December 31st.
Now three weeks into the spring 2024 semester, KLIN News caught up with Kabourek to see how he was acclimating to the head position.
“As a kid from David City, Nebraska, I never would have imagined I’d have this opportunity to be the interim president someday,” said Kabourek, “It’s great to have students back on campus. We all probably know in Lincoln there’s just a little different energy when the students are back. It’s just so exciting to see all those 25,000 students back here in Lincoln and the energy they bring to Lincoln.”
With students teeming NU campuses, Kabourek has enjoyed numerous opportunities to discuss the vision of NU with different Nebraskans. “The great thing about our state — and Lincoln in particular — is people really care about their university and the impact it has. Not only on Lincoln, but the whole state. Having the opportunity to engage in that conversation with people has just been wonderful.”
When Kabourek took the job, it was understood that he’d be balancing his current duties as the university’s head of finances. Kabourek said he didn’t blink at the increased load of responsibility. “Everybody has challenging positions. It’s what we do in Nebraska. We roll up our sleeves, work a little bit harder, and we do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Kabourek said with humility. “We’re still feeling it out. I’m still feeling it out. But things are going well right now.”
Kabourek said when he took the role, “We’ll do everything we can to set up the next president to be successful on day one.” We asked Kabourek what this meant for him, now that he’s had time in the chair.
“I laid out to the board, there’s really two pathways we can take. I can be the caretaker, keep the chair warm for the next person, and make sure the railroad runs on time each and every day. Or we can continue to set a bold leadership plan, a bold agenda, and make progress,” said the now interim leader.
Kabourek emphasized higher education across the country has never been more competitive. “So each and every day that we don’t make progress on those goals is potentially a day that Nebraska falls behind. So in lockstep with the board, we chose to be bold and aggressive and continue to move the needle for Nebraska.”
He says Carter left a great plan, “The play is before us. Now it’s my job to go execute and run the play that’s called. We’re rethinking, reimagining what this university is going to look like going forward. Making sure we are competing for the best and brightest of our kids, making sure we’re meeting the workforce needs of our business partners, attracting faculty to do world class research.”
A 22-member search committee was established to find a long term leader for NU. The application process ended January 1st and a review of the candidates is underway according to Tim Clare, Chairman of the NU Board of Regents and the committee.
Kabourek himself is not involved in the search, “I’m trying to make sure we don’t cause any problems for the board so they have complete and total concentration on finding the next leader for our institution,” he said.
In his personal life, Kabourek is a college basketball referee and youth sports coach, “I told the board I wouldn’t to give that up. I love the interaction with the student athletes, I love the fellow referees, coaches, athletic administrators.” This work has been an outlet for the NU interim president, “I want people to know, I’m an ordinary guy just like them. If they see the university president out there running up and down the floor, hopefully not missing too many calls, hopefully that connects people a little bit more to us.”
He and his wife, Jamie, have three sons, the oldest of whom is a freshman at UNO, “He has the dream of being a pilot someday, and fortunately, UNO has a fantastic aviation institute, and he’s had a great experience there.”
Kabourek parting message to students and Nebraskans, “If a kid from Davis City, Nebraska can go to college, transform the opportunities before him and become Interim President, then anybody can do it. For all the young people out there or anybody looking to improve their situation, I hope they put the University of Nebraska on their list. We will give them every opportunity to come here and become the very best version of themselves.”