The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, chartered by the Nebraska Legislature in 1869, is part of the University of Nebraska system which serves as both the land-grant and the comprehensive public University for the State of Nebraska. The role of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as the primary intellectual and cultural resource for the State is fulfilled through the three missions of the University: teaching, research, and service.
Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 85 establishes the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It defines the object of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as affording students, and the residents of the Nebraska, the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science and arts. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln holds responsibility for operating comprehensive programs of undergraduate instruction, and primary responsibility for operating comprehensive programs of graduate, postgraduate, and professional instruction, research, and public service as authorized by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, except in the health-related disciplines.
The Constitution of the State of Nebraska vests the general government of the University of Nebraska in the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, under the direction of the Nebraska Legislature. The Board of Regents prescribes academic policies for the University of Nebraska system in the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, adopted August 20, 1973 and subsequently amended. In exercising its authority, the Board of Regents delegates general authority to carry out the policies and directions of the Board to the President of the University of Nebraska, and through him or her, to the appropriate administrative officers, including the Chancellor and other senior administrative officers of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as provided in the Regents Bylaws. The Board of Regents exercises final authority and responsibility for University governance within the bounds fixed by the State Constitution and statutes.
These Bylaws shall establish the structure of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.