The UNMC College of Medicine’s leadership team on the Kearney campus continues to round out with the addition of two new educators.
Andrew Priest, EdD, has been named executive director for medical education, while Angie Kratochvil-Stava, MD, is the new assistant medical dean at the Kearney campus.
“Dr. Priest and Dr. Kratochvil-Stava will bring a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm to the development of our new regional campus here in Kearney,” said Robert Messbarger, MD, associate dean of medicine at the Kearney campus. “They are both an excellent fit for the culture we are trying to develop.”
Dr. Priest is full-time and Dr. Kratochvil-Stava is part-time. Dr Kratochvil-Stava will continue to practice clinically in the Kearney area. Both new administrators bring great strengths to the program as the college prepares for its first Kearney-based cohort of medical students in fall 2026.
Dr. Priest, a newcomer to UNMC who most recently served as provost and chief academic officer at Touro University Nevada in Henderson, Nevada, has experience setting up a satellite medical campus.
“Part of my job is to make sure that the student experience in Kearney is equivalent to the student experience in Omaha, as far as the academics go,” Dr. Priest said. “Our goal is that when the students hit the ground running next fall, there’s essentially a seamless experience differential between the two campuses — other than the fact that the Kearney students want to be out here and perhaps become physicians in greater Nebraska.”
Dr. Priest said that the leaders of the existing UNMC Kearney-based programs in the colleges of nursing and allied health – and the just up-and-running pharmacy cohort – have been welcoming and helpful.
“This new role is an opportunity to take what I’ve learned at Touro, Texas Tech and elsewhere over my career, and make this a successful effort for the UNMC College of Medicine.
“I’ve got a lot of experience in developing curricula, and I’ve got experience in expanding and creating programs. I want to take those skills and help the Kearney campus have an outstanding medical school that is seamlessly connected to the Omaha campus.”
Dr. Priest said things have changed a great deal since he helped start Texas Tech’s regional campus in Odessa in 1995.
“They literally had a ‘T1 line,’ whatever that is, that ran between Lubbock and Odessa and Lubbock and Amarillo,” he said. “Now, technology has improved greatly in the last 30 years, but the idea of having a student cohort, away from the ‘mothership’ campus, that receives an equally fine education was the same.”
Dr. Kratochvil-Stava, a pediatrician who has practiced in Kearney for 16 years, said she appreciates the campus’s potential medical workforce impact for rural Nebraska.
“We serve pediatric patients from a very large geographical area,” she said. “And I have a passion for rural medicine and caring for kids closer to their homes.”
Dr. Kratochvil-Stava has been involved in medical education for 20 years, taking medical students and residents into her practice to train. Between medical students, residents and other learners, she estimates the pediatric office educates about 15-20 students a year.
“I’ve trained many students on their paths to various careers, and I’ve been fortunate enough to hire a couple, as well. If we can train some of these students closer to home, we can hopefully increase our medical services in rural areas.
“I’ve always felt drawn to academia and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to impact medical education in greater Nebraska.”
The university has the right people in place to bring the Kearney campus expansion to life, Dr. Kratochvil-Stava said.
Dr. Kratochvil-Stava, who grew up in Kearney, has been delighted with the college’s community engagement efforts, she said.
“Every person that I meet is excited to have medical students in our community,” she said.
“Over the last decade the university has expanded health science education in greater Nebraska, and we’re doing so many more things than medicine out here right now. We are educating students pursuing degrees in nursing, pharmacy, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, radiography and other areas.
“I’ve been excited about the support, especially among the medical and health professionals in our area,” she said. “We’re looking forward to partnering with them to educate and mentor our students.”