COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials have been barnstorming across the state in an effort to connect with supporters, alumni and prospective students.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Chancellor Ronnie Green and others representing the university have been meeting in coffee stops, hotel ballrooms and high school cafeterias to discuss Nebraska’s largest public university campus.

Green stopped in Columbus Monday and met with the area’s Chamber of Commerce. He told Chamber members that he expects the university to enroll 30,000 students in the next few years and double research spending to $600 million. Green says the university is trying to reach half of the state’s youth through development programs.

The chancellor says the university hopes to continue training the next generation of engineers, business owners, agriculturalists and others.