Hank Bounds to Step Down as President of U. of Nebraska System

Updated (3/25/2019, 11:01 p.m.) with additional comments from Bounds about his reasons for leaving.

The president of the University of Nebraska system, who was embroiled a few years ago in a free-speech controversy that built tensions among state lawmakers, university administrators, and faculty members, will step down this summer, according to a letter posted Monday on the system’s website.

In the letter, Hank M. Bounds did not say whether that controversy, which resulted in a graduate student’s being permanently removed from teaching, had influenced his decision to leave the post he has held for almost four years.

It appeared more likely that the long hours of the job and the stresses of dealing with three state budget cuts during his presidency were bigger factors. Bounds wrote that the job, while rewarding, had become “personally demanding.”

“I am writing to let you know that together with my family, I have made the difficult decision to step down as president of this great university,” Bounds wrote. “I have done everything I could to serve our students and the people of Nebraska effectively. Now, after more than 20 years in executive roles, it’s time for me to recharge and reconnect with my family.”

Bounds, who has two teenage children, told the Omaha World-Herald that the long hours and time away from his family had taken a toll on him. Jobs like the presidency, he said, “are 60 to 80 hours every week. It’s hard to work that many hours a week and be a good dad at the same time.”

The free-speech controversy exacerbated long-simmering tensions with some lawmakers, adding to the stress of the job.

In 2017 a small protest on the Lincoln campus, in which a graduate student and members of the English department confronted a 19-year-old conservative undergraduate, sparked angry reactions from state lawmakers. Two campus communications-staff members resigned in protest over how the system had handled it.

Complaints by state lawmakers that the university system had become hostile to conservatives prompted Bounds to commission Gallup to study the political climate on its four campuses. In a report Gallup concluded that most people do not feel constrained in what they say on campus, but a substantial minority do worry about whether some ideas are welcome.

Bounds wrote that he planned to return “to the South, where much of our family lives, late this summer.” His plans will continue to involve education, he wrote.

Bounds is a Mississippi native who previously served as higher-education commissioner for that state.

A campus spokeswoman said the president had not been asked to resign. Tim Clare, chairman of the university’s Board of Regents, praised Bounds as “a tireless leader who always put the university’s interests first.”

Katherine Mangan writes about community colleges, completion efforts, and job training, as well as other topics in daily news. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMangan, or email her at katherine.mangan@chronicle.com.