The UNMC Alumni Association hosted its 2025 Alumni Reunion Weekend in Omaha on Sept. 12–13, welcoming alumni from the Colleges of Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy.
Attendees represented class years ranging from 1965 to 2021. More than 375 alumni and a total of 590 guests participated in the weekend’s events.
Weekend Highlights Included:
- Guided walking tours of iEXCEL, the Wigton Heritage Center, the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and its Chihuly Sanctuary, the McGoogan Health Sciences Library, campus artwork, the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, and more.
- A welcome-back lunch featuring Jen Bartholomew, UNMC Associate Vice Chancellor, Department of Facilities Management & Planning, and Vice President at Nebraska Medicine, and Chad Vokoun, MD ’00, UNMC Division Chief for Hospital Medicine and Physician Executive for Project Health. They spoke about Project Health: Building the Healthiest Nebraska.
- Class dinners for reconnecting and reminiscing.
Special activities for nursing alumni
Nursing alumni had the opportunity to view class photos, participate in oral history video recordings, explore items from the McGoogan Library’s special collections and archives, and tour the College of Nursing’s simulated hospital.
The day concluded with a Dean’s Reception, where Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP, shared a state-of-the-college update. The 2025 alumni awards were presented, and members of the 50-year class of 1975 were inducted into the honorary Half Century Club.
2025 Alumni Award Recipients
- Honorary Alumnus Award: Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, PhD, DLitt, RN, FAAN
- Nursing Excellence Award: Natalie Rasmussen, PhD ’20, MSN ’00, APRN-NP, AOCN
- Dorothy Patach Spirit of Service Award: Leslie Newburn, RN, BSN ’14
- Distinguished Alumnus Award: Joyce M. Black, PhD ’99, MSN ’81, RN, FAAN
Photos from the event can be found here. Read more about the awardees here.