LINCOLN — University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said Thursday that impending systemwide budget cuts of more than $40 million will be “incredibly painful” but “necessary” for NU’s survival.

Dr. Gold, speaking at his inaugural “State of the University” address, said NU will still embark on what he’s coined the “Odyssey to the Extraordinary.” He set out his vision one year ago during the formal ceremony celebrating him as NU’s ninth president. Gold returned Thursday to say he still seeks to make an “already good, already excellent” NU “something more.”

Gold didn’t shy away from NU’s challenges, such as slowing state support and uncertainty in federal research dollars or policies, in an event believed by NU officials to be the first NU presidential address of its kind, and which Gold

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