This month’s UNMC Circle of Distinction event recognized the recipients of endowed chairs, professorships and fellowships – the highest academic awards the university can bestow on a faculty member – as well as the benefactors who supported them.
Fifty faculty members and their corresponding benefactors were honored Oct. 1 during the event, which also recognized more than 150 faculty and benefactors who previously had joined the Circle of Distinction.
See the event program with a list of faculty recognitions and benefactors.
Endowed positions are critical to UNMC’s ability to recruit and retain the highest-quality faculty, said Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD. “The greatest institutions have the best minds — the most creative researchers, the most engaged educators. And, as we recognize today, UNMC has successfully attracted and retained leading stars in academic medicine … stars who will ensure we attract the best and brightest students.”
Lori Byrne, executive vice president of advancement and campaign director for the University of Nebraska Foundation, praised the donors and faculty who were honored.
“Faculty are one of the reasons donors want to invest in the University of Nebraska,” she said. “These generous benefactors allow UNMC to recruit and retain faculty who are the best of the best and who will teach the next generation of Nebraska’s health care providers and conduct critical research that changes lives and saves lives.”
As of Sept. 30, the University of Nebraska’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for our University’s Future,” has been successful in creating 34 new endowed chairs, professorships and fellowships for UNMC, Byrne said.
Dr. Davies thanked the donor community for its support, noting, “I could not be more grateful and humbled by the investment our benefactors have made in our faculty, institution, students and overall mission to transform lives and create healthier futures.”