How We Started and Why

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute became operational at the University of Nebraska in 2013. At the time, a half-century of research demonstrated that quality early learning experiences during the first eight years of life set a child on a trajectory for success in school and life. Yet, despite the best efforts of many dedicated people and organizations across the state, Nebraska, like other states across the nation, was struggling to close the gap between what we know our young children need and what we provide.

To address this gap, leaders at the University of Nebraska and Susie Buffett, a leading philanthropist and champion of early childhood education and development, conceived a bold vision—establishing a university-wide multidisciplinary institute that would leverage the resources of the four campuses of the University of Nebraska and apply the best of what is known about the science and benefits of early childhood intervention in Nebraska and across the nation. In support of this vision, Buffett made a generous gift that was financially matched by the university, amounting to the largest commitment any university in the U.S.—public or private—has ever made on behalf of the field of early childhood development and education.

Susie Buffett’s gift to the university was premised on three broad challenges to the Institute:

• First, the Institute’s highest priority—its emphasis on young children, especially those living in poverty, living with disabilities, experiencing familial challenges, or facing bias and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or other characteristics—had to guide everything the Institute did.

• Second, the Institute must demonstrate value-added gains, rather than duplicating what already existed at the University of Nebraska or elsewhere.

• Third, the Institute’s mission must exert a powerful effect on the lives of children and families in Nebraska.

These three challenges are foundational to the Institute’s commitments throughout its first decade.