[3] His successor, Edmund Burke Fairfield, led a contentious tenure as chancellor highlighted by clashes over the place of religion in higher education.

In the University of Nebraska's early years, quick expansion and a limited budget meant many campus buildings were poorly constructed and visually unappealing.

[8] After a second interim stretch by Charles Edwin Bessey, the University of Nebraska appointed Elisha Andrews its seventh chancellor on September 22, 1900.

Just as he had done as president of Brown University,[9] Andrews ambitiously sought funding to expand the school; a 1904 investment from John D. Rockefeller led to the construction of The Temple, which still stands on campus.

Avery's successor was dean of agriculture Edgar Albert Burnett, who served from 1928 until 1938, leading the university through the height of the Great Depression.

Burnett was never popular amongst the faculty, but shortly before retiring from his post he created the University of Nebraska Foundation to secure funding from non-state sources at a time when spare resources were scarce.

The Depression was still unfolding, and in response to a rising level of failing students at the university, Boucher instituted NU's first admission standards.

[15] Gustavson was well-liked and well-respected, and after seven years at NU accepted the presidency of Resources for the Future, a nonprofit organization focusing on energy and environmental sustainability.

He quickly secured funding from the Kellogg's Company to establish the Nebraska Center for Continuing Education, a building which today bears his name as Hardin Hall.

Over the next forty years, Devaney and his successor Tom Osborne created one of college football's great dynasties, claiming five national championships between them.

Soshnik's tenure began in the midst of a transition for the universities of Nebraska, as well as a period of turmoil across many United States campuses as students protested American involvement in the Vietnam War.

[19] Soshnik became generally well-liked by students, but the emotion and unpredictability of the chancellorship led him to resign his post in 1971 and accept a position at Omaha investment firm Pettis, Smith, Polian Inc.[19] After an interim spell by C. Peter Magrath, the Board of Regents selected James Zumberge as its new chancellor.

Oregon State University researcher Roy Young was named his replacement the following year, and quickly secured a record amount of outside funding for various NU departments.

As chancellor, he spearheaded the creation of the Center for Grassland Studies and was highly involved in athletics, serving as chair of the College Football Association board of directors.

Graham Spanier was named Nebraska's seventeenth chancellor in 1991 and quickly addressed a significant budget shortfall while raising admission standards.

The university's once-dominant football program did not win a conference title during his time as chancellor, and Perlman's management of the athletic department was highly criticized.