As we have just completed the Labor Day holiday, it is fitting that we celebrate several fruits of the labor of our faculty and staff.
Aug. 21 saw another very successful Parents and Family Day that provides an orientation to families of entering medical students. It culminates with the White Coat ceremony that once again was at the Orpheum Theater. It is always an impactful event for the new students and their families. Thanks to the alumni association and college’s Office of Student Affairs staff who organized it – another great job!
This year’s entering class is special in that it marks the largest entering class in perhaps 50 years – 153 students. This includes 10 students who comprise the inaugural class at the Kearney Regional campus.
Congratulations and thanks to all the individuals in the dean’s office, assistant/associate deans and staff who have worked so diligently over the past several years to make the Kearney campus a reality. Most notably, Dr. Geoff Talmon and the leadership team at Kearney (Drs. Rob Messbarger, Angela Kratochvil-Stava, and Andrew Priest) have committed enormous time and effort in assuring the success of the Kearney campus as it moves forward.
This new campus also would not have been possible without the commitment of many community physicians in central Nebraska, who are taking time away from their clinical practices to serve as part-time or volunteer faculty to teach in the preclinical (Phase 1) curriculum and/or will be serving in clerkships or other components of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 portions of the curriculum in the future.
Finally, the support of the philanthropic community throughout Nebraska has been phenomenal, as they stepped up to meet the additional scholarship needs brought on by the increased number of students in Kearney, as well as Omaha. We can’t thank them enough for their support and generosity.
On a different note, the UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research’s Office has recently announced that extramural research funding for the last academic year increased dramatically, in spite of the decrease or delay in awards coming from NIH. This is a testament to the hard work of our faculty who are committed to advancing our biomedical knowledge and improving the lives of patients. Congratulations and thanks.
Also in the area of research, several medical faculty are being honored for their accomplishments in research by the VCR’s office through its annual research awards. Most notably, Dr. Paul Sorgen (biochemistry and molecular biology) is the recipient of a Research Leadership Award and Dr. Ted Mikuls (internal medicine) was named this year’s Scientist Laureate, the latter the highest research recognition possible at UNMC. Eight other UNMC College of Medicine faculty were named as Distinguished Scientists, and another seven were recognized with New Investigator awards. Congratulations to all.
Finally, a very important next step was taken on Sept. 2 by the NU Board of Regents in assuring the future success of Nebraska Medicine, which is critically important to the future of the college. They unanimously approved a resolution that added the Omaha Community Foundation as a shared governing member alongside the University of Nebraska System for Nebraska Medicine.
The college is very appreciative of the vision of the regents and the willingness of the Omaha Community Foundation to become a partner with the board, as well as the leadership team of Nebraska Medicine and the physician leaders of the college of medicine. This collaboration will maximize the likelihood for the future success of Nebraska Medicine in these challenging times for academic medicine and healthcare overall, including moving forward with Project Health. We are grateful to all who have worked diligently over the past several months to achieve this milestone.