Not unexpectedly, as we roll into October, the pace of activity in the UNMC College of Medicine is picking up.
The Alumni Association hosted what may be a record number of alums the weekend of Sept 12. Congratulations to our medical faculty and alums, Drs. Melanie Menning and Ted Mikuls, who were recognized by the Alumni Association. Dr. Mikuls received the Dedication to Student Excellence Award,and Dr. Menning was the recipient of the Early Career Achievement Award. In addition, UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, received the Honorary Alumnus Award.
The college’s admissions committee is currently selecting next year’s entering class, including the members of the inaugural class on the Kearney campus. At the same time, the fourth-year students have begun the process of residency selection and, in parallel, our residency and fellowship programs are reviewing applications.
There also is much excitement about the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approving the next stage of Project Health during their meeting on Oct. 4. This $2.19 billion project, when completed, will have an enormous benefit for all missions of the UNMC College of Medicine. We are grateful to the Board of Regents and President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, as well as the board of Nebraska Medicine and the philanthropic community, who are working collaboratively to move this project forward.
Within the last several weeks, two longstanding division directors in the department of internal medicine, Drs. Julie Vose and Jim O’Dell, have announced their plan to transition to new roles, and the department has begun the steps to identify their successors. In addition, in the case of oncology and hematology, the decision was made to split that division into two separate divisions, one focusing in hematology and health malignancy and the other on medical oncology of solid tumors.
Let me thank and congratulate Drs. Vose and O’Dell for their leadership and contributions to the success of the department, college and UNMC over their many years here. We all wish them the best of success in their next endeavors.
In turn, we greatly appreciate Drs. Matt Lunning, Nicole Shonka and Bryant England for their willingness to take on the interim leadership roles for the division of hematology, medical oncology, and rheumatology, respectively. Each division will be in good hands.
Finally, I want to bring to your attention two town halls that are scheduled for Oct. 17 at 7:30 a.m. and Oct. 30 at noon. These hybrid programs are being presented to discuss proposed changes in the UNMC College of Medicine Promotion and Tenure Guidelines recommended by Faculty Council for consideration by our faculty. These changes, if approved by the faculty, would update and reactivate a clinical faculty track in the college.
The town halls will provide a rationale and overview of the proposal, which will be distributed in advance of the meetings, with ample time for questions and dialogue. Please try to attend one of these sessions. Your thoughts would be greatly valued before bringing such a proposal to the faculty for vote.