Mark Bowen named director of UNMC Government Relations

Mark Bowen

Mark Bowen, who recently served as chief of staff for the City of Lincoln, has been named director of government relations at UNMC.

Bowen began his new role Sept. 24 and succeeds Renee Fry, who launched the Government Relations office in 2005 and is now director of UNMC Public Affairs.

“Mark’s broad experience in government relations has enabled him to hit the ground running,” said Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs at UNMC. “With 15 years of experience as a staff member in the U.S. Senate and seven years managing the city of Lincoln’s federal and state legislative programs, Mark is the ideal person to further advance our relationships with our congressional delegation and federal agency leaders.”

“This position is a blending of my past experiences and I’m looking forward to using my skills to benefit UNMC,” Bowen said. “Advocating for health education, and health sciences research, is a natural evolution and ties back to my experience in legislation and education. Matching the needs of government and institutions can be challenging at times, but great fun.”

The challenges, he said, include matching UNMC’s needs to available funding sources, such as those associated with homeland security and defense, as well as identifying additional federal opportunities for non-peer reviewed research funding.

Bowen brings a wealth of experience to the position. As chief of staff since 2000, he directed and advanced the state and federal legislative program for the City of Lincoln, including organizing and advocating legislative priorities and analyzing the effect of legislation on operations, policy and revenue. Prior to that, he spent four years (1996-2000) as state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

The 1978 University of Nebraska-Lincoln journalism graduate launched his career as communications specialist for the Lincoln Public Schools. In 1981, he moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as U.S. Senator Jim Exon’s press secretary/communication director. In 1991, he became state director for the senator, a job in which he coordinated legislative strategy and supervised four district offices.

Bowen and his wife, Nancy, have twin daughters in college. Outside the office, Bowen enjoys sports and classic cars.