Sally Rockey, one of four finalists vying to become the next University of Nebraska president, will visit UNL on Dec. 18.

Rockey, deputy director for extramural research at the National Institutes of Health, will participate in forums open to all University of Nebraska faculty, staff, students and public; an interview with the NU Board of Regents; and meetings with other university constituents and community leaders. Rockey’s entire Nebraska visit is Dec. 15-18.

Rockey’s UNL campus forum is 9:30 a.m. Dec. 18 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium. The forum will be recorded and made available for viewing on the University of Nebraska website following visits by all four presidential finalists.

Her interview with the NU Board of Regents is 1 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Varner Hall Board Room, 3835 Holdrege St. The interview is open to the public.

Rockey also will visit the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Dec. 15, as well as the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Kearney on Dec. 16.

Following the visits, the regents will seek feedback via an online form available at http://nebraska.edu/presidentsearch.

The other three NU president finalists are: Hank Bounds, commissioner of higher education for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning; Michael Martin, chancellor of the Colorado State University system; and George Ross, president of Central Michigan University.

As deputy director for extramural research, Rockey oversees the development and implementation of the policies and guidelines central to the successful conduct of biomedical research supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Rockey earned a doctorate in entomology from Ohio State University and has spent the majority of her career in research administration and information technology. She leads or is active on a number of federal committees related to science, federal research assistance and electronic government, and works closely with academic, small business and scientific communities.

In 1986 Rockey joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s extramural research arm, where she advanced to the post of deputy administrator of the cooperative state research, education and extension service, overseeing the extramural grants program and portfolio. In 2002 she became chief information officer, aligning state-of-the-art information technologies with the department goals and objectives. Three years later she was appointed deputy director of the office of extramural research at NIH, and brought her experience in research administration and federal assistance to biomedical research. She assumed her current position in 2010.

For more information on the NU president search, click here.