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James Sorrell, M.D. |
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Jeffrey Harrison, M.D. |
James Sorrell, M.D., associate professor in the UNMC department of psychiatry, will fill the new position of assistant dean for student affairs, while Jeffrey Harrison, M.D., associate professor of family medicine, will serve as assistant dean for admissions. Both promotions are effective immediately.
“With the changing face of medical education, we feel it is in the best interests of our students to dedicate more faculty resources to such positions,” Dr. Hill said. “We’re very excited that Drs. Sorrell and Harrison will fill these important needs. We believe their individual areas of expertise will fit these positions quite well.”
As assistant dean for student affairs, Dr. Sorrell will provide support on many levels including guidance in terms of academic and career choices.
“This has become increasingly important as medical students face more career and academic options today than they have in the past,” Dr. Hill said. “Dr. Sorrell’s professional expertise will lend itself well to helping our students make wise decisions in the face of these increased choices.”
Dr. Harrison will help recruit and retain students and will put a particular emphasis on attracting students from rural areas through initiatives such as the Rural Health Ooportunities Program.
Dr. Harrison has long worked to raise awareness of health care careers among rural youths, Dr. Hill said, noting the emphasis Dr. Harrison placed on this issue while he served as president of the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians in 2006 and 2007.
“Dr. Harrison has a clear vision of the health care issues Nebraska faces and also of how UNMC can help address those needs,” Dr. Hill said. “Recruiting outstanding students who want to practice in rural areas is essential to UNMC’s mission of serving the entire state and no one is in a better position to help us do that than Dr. Harrison.”
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Dr. Sorrell joined the college’s faculty in 1999 and in 2000 he received the UNMC Department of Psychiatry Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2005, he received the Nebraska Broadcasting Association Gold Award for Community Service for his work on “Sunday Night Shrink Rap,” a radio show he hosts on Omaha’s 94.1 FM, during which he discusses and offers counsel on mental health issues for adolescents and young adults.
Dr. Harrison joined the college’s faculty in 1995 and has been on the annual Best Doctors in America list since 2005. Also in 2005, Dr. Harrison was named the department of family medicine’s alumnus of the year.