Lookin’ at U – Paula Cooper

Each Thursday, we randomly feature a medical center employee.

This week, we learn more about Paula Cooper, assistant to the dean in the College of Public Health.









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Paula Cooper
  • Name: Paula Cooper
  • Hometown: Omaha
  • No. of years at UNMC: Three years

What is your best memory from your time at UNMC?

I have several great memories in the short time I have been at UNMC but the days that stick out most (besides Dean Ayman El-Mohandes’ first day with us in 2009) are the opening of the Maurer Center for Public Health in the spring of 2011 and the announcement of our newly accredited college in the fall of 2011.

Our four brand values are leadership, commitment to excellence, working together and being a trusted resource. Pick one and tell us a time you witnessed it embodied at UNMC.

Being involved in the accreditation process for our college was definitely the most impressive collaborative effort I have been a part of. It was exciting to see our faculty, staff and students pull together and work as a team to make the dream of accreditation become a reality.

List three things people may not know about you.

  • I have a super-great blended family of 14 years — four children (two stepchildren); three boys and one girl; ages ranging from 21 to 27.
  • I love my two dogs — 9-year-old Lucy (Vizsla), and 8-year-old Molly (Weimaraner).
  • My husband, Sam, and I completed 100 mile bike ride — all in one day — in 2004 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and raised more than $10,000 ourselves.

2 comments

  1. Sherry Martin says:

    Paula, thanks for sharing…for those of us who weren't here during the accreditation process and can only imagine what it was like, we appreciate your comments and insight. I can definitely validate what you said about faculty, staff and students pulling together, because I have rarely, if ever, seen such a "giving" group of people under one "house." Thanks again for being "you."

  2. sue anson says:

    I always love to hear about successfully blended families; speaking from experience, it isn't always easy.

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