Chancellor Li Announces New Leadership Roles, Position Searches

University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Chancellor Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA, announced a series of changes to the Office of the Chancellor reporting structure and new executive level position searches at the campus leadership level.

Li said the elevation of key campus leaders will put their respective units in a stronger position to meet the university’s goals and support student achievement.

“Everything we want to accomplish in the coming years as a leading urban university starts with placing leaders in a position where their units can excel,” Li said. “With these changes to our reporting structure and the new position searches, we will be able to more effectively advocate for our institution, tell our university’s story, and tell the world UNO is a place that every voice and experience is valued.”

They are as follows:

• Makayla McMorris, who has served as the Executive Director of the Office of University Communications since 2018, will serve as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. In this role, she will report directly to Chancellor Li to support the university’s perception, retention, engagement, and recruitment efforts.

• Barb Harvey will serve as Executive Assistant in the Office of the Chancellor. After serving as an administrative coordinator within the Office of Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion, she has been a valuable member of my office during the transition and onboarding process. Harvey won UNO’s Employee of the Year award in 2020.

• Charlotte Evans will serve as Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police for UNO Public Safety. Evans has been with the university since 2015 and has served as Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police for UNO since 2018.

• Victoria Kohout will continue her work as Director of State and Community Relations, but will work closely with the Office of the Chancellor on our community education, outreach, and advancement activities.

Searches for new leadership positions include:

• Chief Diversity Officer: Sacha Kopp, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, is chairing a national search for the position.

• Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources: Doug Ewald, Vice Chancellor for Business, Finance, and Business Development, is chairing the search for an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources.

• Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of Alumni Relations: UNO is partnering with the University of Nebraska Foundation in a search for a Vice President for Advancement position, and once in place, will begin a search for the Director of Alumni Relations.

Updates will be provided as searches progress.