{"id":131537,"date":"2026-04-24T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=131537"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:42:58","slug":"unwavering-dedication-diane-mack-is-unmcs-gold-u-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/24\/unwavering-dedication-diane-mack-is-unmcs-gold-u-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Unwavering dedication’: Diane Mack is UNMC’s Gold U winner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Diane Mack was ready to respond when fire struck a laboratory at the Durham Research Center overnight on Nov. 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And throughout the incident response, from the initial fire call to full recovery of lab spaces, Mack rose to the task in her role as UNMC\u2019s director of emergency management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her efforts, Mack will be awarded the UNMC Gold U Award \u2013 and receive recognition before the University of Nebraska Board of Regents at its meeting today (April 24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mack was nominated for the award by UNMC senior leadership \u2013 Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, Jane Meza, PhD, UNMC\u2019s interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Charlotte Evans, UNMC\u2019s chief of police and vice chancellor of public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those leaders offered high praise for Mack in nominating her for the award, saying she consistently delivers outstanding performance and demonstrated leadership during the fire that exemplifies UNMC\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiane Mack\u2019s unwavering dedication, professionalism and embodiment of the ITEACH values make her an outstanding candidate for the Gold U Award,\u201d they wrote in their nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mack said she appreciates the kind words and the award. But Mack also deflects credit to her team in UNMC\u2019s emergency management office, her fellow incident commanders and to the entire campus and all the personnel who have roles to play in promoting a resilient med center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me, it’s a reflection of what we’ve built and the team itself,\u201d Mack said. \u201cIt’s truly the measure of a team when they come together, of how resilient an organization is and that ability for them to use the frameworks that we’ve built and be able to respond and recover from any kind of incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added, \u201cThat’s our goal, and to see that in action was truly rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mack\u2019s career spans 25 years in the field of emergency management, homeland security and business continuity. She previously served in roles with Indiana University and the State of Indiana, as well as volunteering with the Team Rubicon disaster response organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She joined UNMC in 2021 \u2013 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 as the emergency management director for UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and that joint appointment continues today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the diversity of work between the two campuses, because any experience you can get in any environment makes you a better emergency manager,\u201d Mack said. \u201cYou’re able to see different perspectives and different risks and different solutions to any kind of problem that might come up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their nomination, the UNMC leaders said Mack\u2019s performance stood out in a number of ways, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n