Lisa Bally, director of finance and operation for the Center for Continuing Education in the UNMC College of Medicine, is retiring Feb. 27 after 35 years at UNMC.
She’s worn several hats at the med center over the years. Bally started out in pathology and microbiology, where she spent more than a decade. She began filing slides and left when she was the lead. She joined the Center for Continuing Education as a registrar and is retiring at her current position.
She sums up her career trajectory as saying, “What do you need help with?” with the eventual answer being, “Oh, we’re going to start letting you do that.”
She even served a stint as co-interim director of the Center for Continuing Education.
“She believed in our mission, advocated for our growth and provided steady guidance through every season of change. Because of her leadership, our department didn’t just grow — it thrived,” said Debbie Von Seggern, the Center for Continuing Education’s EMS and trauma program coordinator, who worked with Bally for 23 years.
Kerri Gilson, executive director of the Center for Continuing Education, said: “Lisa’s longtime service and leadership have been invaluable to our department. We appreciate all she has done and wish her a happy and well‑deserved retirement.”
Though Bally had numerous professional accomplishments – she was awarded three Silver U’s – she cites her favorite UNMC memory as “the people you meet along the way.”
Those people feel the same way. Micki Taylor, Center for Continuing Education administrator and PAF coordinator, calls herself Bally’s protégé. She credits Bally, who hired her more than 20 years ago, with teaching her how to connect with people as a manager.
“I feel like a piece of the department is leaving,” Taylor said. “I’m really excited for her. However, it tugs at your heart strings a little bit. A piece of the family is going bye-bye. It’s a big deal.”
“We raised our children alongside one another,” Von Seggern said. “Sharing at work, their trials, milestones and accomplishments. We grew not only as professionals, but as mothers walking parallel journeys.”
One of Taylor’s favorite memories was when her oldest son had gotten into some minor kid trouble, and his punishment was to come clean her office. When he showed up, he found mom had been sent home sick. Rather than leave, he simply settled in and worked the rest of the afternoon with Ms. Lisa.
“They were comfortable with Lisa,” Taylor said of her children. “She always made you feel comfortable, that you were part of her team. You were part of her family.
“I’m going to miss all those little things.”
So will Bally. But she’s excited to retire. “It’s now time for somebody else to take some reigns,” she said.
And, she’s retiring on behalf of someone else, too. “My mother (Sandra Bally) was working in accounting in general supply,” she said. “At 45, she had a massive stroke and hasn’t been able to work since. She had all kinds of designs on how she was going to retire from UNMC, and she never got to do it.”
How was she when she heard her daughter would? “She was very excited,” Bally said.
What’s in store? “At least for the first couple of months, ‘do nothing’ is my plan,” Bally said. “I have a few little projects. I love to paint; I’ll do some painting.
“And there are some good friends on this campus I’ll be staying in touch with.”