Infrastructure is a subject that is a vital issue for Nebraska and the rest of the union.

Sandra Scofield, director of the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative, will take on the important topic Jan. 21 when she delivers a Paul A. Olson Seminar in Great Plains Studies. Scofield will present “A Crash Course in Infrastructure: Expensive but Essential Components for Rural (and Urban) Nebraska’s Future” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum. The seminar and a 3 p.m. reception in the museum are free and open to the public.

Scofield will describe how each state and the nation as a whole confront expensive issues related to building and maintaining the infrastructure needed to remain globally connected – and how it’s easy to put those issues off until a crisis occurs.

Scofield will discuss the various kinds of infrastructure important to the future of Nebraska, their status, who funds infrastructure, the costs, and the decisions citizens and their representatives need to make in an era of tight budgets.

Her presentation is the first of four Olson Seminars in the spring semester.

Each is from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum and will be preceded by a 3 p.m. reception. All are free and open to the public.

The next Olson Seminar is Feb. 18. It will feature “The Fossil Record and the Fact of Evolution,” by George F. Engelmann, professor of geology and biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha.