The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is facing a $27.5 million structural budget deficit. As part of proposed cuts, there is a line item titled “Administrative & Staff Efficiencies in Colleges” valued at $1.1 million. Folded into this entry, without any explicit mention, is the replacement of the administration of both the Glenn Korff School of Music and the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, including the directors of both of these schools, with a single administration and a single director.

This proposed cut is couched as an “Administrative Reduction” in the Chancellor’s memo, but in fact it represents a department realignment with major impacts on the academic programs of the Glenn Korff and Johnny Carson Schools.

Since 1894, GKSOM has been a place where artistry, scholarship, and community converge. We prepare future educators, inspire performers, and elevate Nebraska’s cultural life. To lose a dedicated music director is not just administrative—it strikes at the very heart of our school.

Despite the GKSOM’s favorable metrics placing us in the top 25% across the entire university, restructuring to remove the Director of the GKSOM and replace our leadership with a single director responsible for both theatre and music will guarantee staffing and programmatic changes driven by decisions where the GKSOM has no independent voice.

If this plan proceeds, we risk losing valued staff, and retiring faculty may not be replaced by equally qualified experts. Imagine a celebrated professor—whose artistry attracts students from around the world—replaced by someone unprepared to meet our undergraduate and graduate student needs.

 The Cost of Losing Our Voice

This restructuring is not a simple administrative shift. It is a strategic plan guaranteeing that critical programmatic decisions affecting students, faculty, and Nebraska’s cultural life will be made without a dedicated advocate for music and without the necessary staffing to support the GKSOM’s various missions.

In promoting this administrative restructuring, our college leadership promises “joint projects,” “faster integration of emerging media arts,” and “curricular collaboration in sound technologies.” 

The GKSOM enthusiastically embraces collaboration and innovation. We recognize that emerging media arts and sound technologies present exciting opportunities for our students, faculty, and community. However, meaningful and sustainable integration cannot be achieved by administrative directive alone.

For integration to be truly effective, the process must begin with student and faculty voices. Our students are directly impacted by curricular changes, and they bring perspectives shaped by their experiences, aspirations, and diverse artistic practices. Likewise, faculty expertise—grounded in years of research, teaching, and creative work—ensures that integration aligns with disciplinary standards, accreditation requirements, and the evolving landscape of professional practice.

We welcome dialogue and shared exploration of new opportunities in emerging media arts. But to be successful, “faster integration” must be paired with thoughtful consultation, transparent planning, and collaboration that honors the expertise and lived experiences of the people most affected: the students and faculty of the GKSOM.

Our new world-class facility, Nebraska’s most expensive state-funded project, was designed to empower such opportunities. But if the GKSOM relinquishes our control of facilities and curriculum, students will lose access to the very spaces created for them. Nebraska’s investment must be stewarded by leaders who understand the unique needs of a music school.