UNMC for the record, Sept. 15, 2023

Bill Scott named to Polka Hall of Fame

Bill Scott, a benefactor to UNMC along with his wife Ruth, has been named to the Sokol Omaha Polka Hall of Fame.

Scott was honored along with other members of the 2023 class at a ceremony Sunday, Sept. 10, at the former Sokol Auditorium, now known as The Admiral, located at 13^th and Martha streets.

Along with Scott, the inductees were Galen Beck, Jan Lhotak, Leonard R. Siedlik (Lenny Rich) Bob Zyblut and the late Raynold Woita and Herman (Hermie) Franzluebbers.

Scott is a renowned trumpet player who specializes in polka music. He and his son John played in the local polka band The Polonairs and also partnered with band members of the group Sheelytown.

Bill and Ruth Scott have supported numerous major projects at UNMC, including the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza, the Center for Nursing Science, the Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health, the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education and the Durham Research Center and Durham Research Center II.

Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium holding summit

Registration closes Sept. 20 for the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Summit, set for Sept. 30 at the Big Ten headquarters at Rosemont, Illinois.

See more information and register online here.

The summit is designed for:

• Senior and junior faculty and fellows involved in clinical oncology research
• Basic scientists involved in drug discovery and translational research
• Cancer center leadership and administration
• Industry leaders and medical science liaisons
• Patient advocates

The Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center is the official host of the conference. 

FDA-sponsored course to be held at UNMC

UNMC will host the upcoming course, “Achieving Data Quality & Integrity in Clinical Trials Involving High Consequence Pathogens.”

The course is sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, UNMC Global Center for Health Security and UTMB Health.

An in-person event will be held Oct. 4-6 at UNMC, and the virtual course will be Oct. 4-5. Registration for in-person attendance is due today (Sept. 15); virtual registration is due Sept. 22.

The course is geared toward health care professionals who have interest in clinical trials.

Registration is available through this flier. See more about the course online at this link. With questions, email this account.

Refer a foodie to Sodexo and get some freebies

Sodexo is looking for some help filling service roles with Nebraska Medicine for all shifts and positions.

Med center colleagues who refer a food service or environmental service team member to Sodexo will be eligible for free food and beverages for a year.

How it works:

• A $10 daily allowance will be loaded to the employee’s badge beginning on the new hire’s orientation date.
• This credit can be used at any Sodexo food outlet, including Clarkson Café, Nebraska Café, Bellevue Medical Center Café, Starbucks in the Durham Outpatient Center, Buffett Café and The Restaurant at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and the C-Store in University Tower.
• The daily allowance will reload each day at midnight and will remain on your badge for one year, as long as the new hire remains employed by Sodexo.
• This referral bonus is available to any colleague from Nebraska Medicine, UNMC, Clarkson College, Sodexo and Cardinal Health. Anyone who owns a Nebraska Medicine, UNMC or a Clarkson College ID badge is eligible.

To refer a food service or environmental service employee:

• Share this link with friends and family.
• Ask the applicant to include the referring employee’s full name on their application.
• A Sodexo recruiter also will ask for a full name during the initial phone screening.

UNMC retirements

Karen Pennington, of the UNMC College of Pharmacy, is the longest-tenured retiree announced in September by the UNMC Department of Human Resources, but only by a little more than three months.

Pennington, who retired on Sept. 6, started her UNMC career on Aug. 8, 1987, giving her a longer than 36-year career at the university.

Retiring about two weeks before, on Aug. 26, was John Lof of the UNMC College of Medicine. Lof, who joined UNMC on Nov. 23, 1987, was at the university for more than 35 years.

Other retirees announced include:

• Sandra Latshaw, UNMC College of Allied Health, retired Sept. 6 (start date Sept. 1, 1996)
• Susan McCarthy, UNMC College of Medicine, retired Sept. 9 (start date Jan. 30, 2002)
• Veronica Jones, UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, retired Sept. 1 (start date Aug. 7, 2002)
• Kris Puhl, UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, retired Sept. 8 (start date Nov. 16, 2005)
• Katherine Hoffman, UNMC College of Nursing, retired Sept. 1 (start date Oct. 16, 2010)
• Gregory Pavlides, MD, PhD, UNMC College of Medicine, retired Sept. 1 (start date Jan. 20, 2014)
• Wayne Mathews, UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, retired Sept. 2 (start date June 8, 2016)