LINCOLN - Regent Jim Pillen of Columbus, who is also running for governor, said in a statement he is "100% opposed to mask mandates, COVID-19 vaccination mandates, vaccine passports, and mandatory testing policies."

UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green announced Wednesday students will be required to take a COVID test upon their return to campus later this month and will be required to wear masks indoors.

The rapid spread of the omicron variant, which scientists say is more transmissible than other COVID strains, led to the decision to re-implement the public health guidelines, UNL said.

The flagship campus required masks to be worn indoors for most of the 2020-21 school year -- a policy developed in conjunction with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department -- and required students to submit to random, weekly saliva testing.

With the widespread availability of vaccines, UNL relaxed those measures ahead of the fall 2021 semester, but a countywide mask mandate remained in place until just before Christmas.

While Pillen has announced his opposition to mask and vaccine requirements on social media, Wednesday's statement is the first time the candidate has publicly come out against the policy at UNL.

"My expectation, and that of Nebraska taxpayers, is full in-person learning without mandates that violate our personal freedoms," he said.

A campaign spokesman said previous requirements at UNL were in compliance with a directed health measure outside of the purview of the Board of Regents, while Wednesday's announcement that masks will be required when UNL starts classes later this month came at the direction of the administration.

Pillen's statement did not address mask mandates that are in place at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

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