Diplomas and honors bestowed as another school year wraps up at UNMC

About 720 students will receive diplomas this week and two distinguished physicians will be honored by the medical center as another school year comes to a close at UNMC.

Graduation ceremonies will be held at UNMC campuses in Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha and Scottsbluff and at the Omaha commencement ceremony on Saturday, Louis Sullivan, M.D., and Gary Conell, M.D., will be honored for special contributions to health care.

Tireless advocate honored









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Louis Sullivan
Dr. Sullivan — secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1989 to 1993 and present chairman of the board of the National Health Museum in Atlanta — will receive an honorary degree from UNMC for his contributions to improve the health of all Americans and for his advocacy for racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions.

Dr. Sullivan’s work extended to UNMC where he and the late Rubens Pamies, M.D., forged an academic and research partnership between the medical center, five Historically Black Colleges/Universities in Virginia, as well as:

  • The University of Richmond;
  • The University of Virginia;
  • Eastern Virginia Medical School; and
  • Virginia Technical University.

Dr. Conell receives Elliot award

Dr. Conell, a family practice physician in North Platte for the past 40 years and program director for the UNMC Rural Family Practice Residency Training Program in North Platte, will receive the J.G. “Jack” Elliott Award for his mentorship of hundreds of students and work throughout greater Nebraska.









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Gary Conell, M.D.
His support of this preceptor program has been integral for the on-site education of third-year medical residents in family medicine rotations. In 2010, his success in this program was recognized when he was awarded the Koefoot Outstanding Preceptor in Rural Family Medicine Award from UNMC.

The J.G. Elliott Award is given annually in memory of Elliott, a former Scottsbluff resident who served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents for 20 years.