{"id":134779,"date":"2026-08-18T07:54:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=134779"},"modified":"2026-08-18T07:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:54:45","slug":"deans-message-sad-endings-and-new-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/08\/18\/deans-message-sad-endings-and-new-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean&#8217;s message: Sad endings and new beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year, Aug. 21 marks the unofficial beginning of the new educational year for the UNMC College of Medicine, with the annual White Coat Ceremony welcoming the newest class of medical students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s class is unique in several regards, and that adds to the excitement. This will be the largest entering class in many years \u2013 153 students. This class includes 10 students who represent the inaugural class beginning their medical school careers at the regional campus in Kearney. We thank these 10 students for their willingness to spearhead the creation of this important addition to the future of healthcare in Central Nebraska. Nevertheless, we view this as a single class, as reflected by the fact that there will be a single White Coat Ceremony that all will attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month, we also received an end-of-the-year accounting of extramural research funding to the college. Research awards to the UNMC College of Medicine increased 144% from FY25 to the recently completed FY26 &#8211; $173 million compared to $120 million. Given the challenges that research funding has faced in the past year and a half, this is a remarkable accomplishment and is a testament to the dedication and persistence of our faculty. Congratulations and thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The excitement that comes from the arrival of new students and the above research successes has been dampened this year by the recent news of the passing of two UNMC legends whose partnership and impact on the college of medicine and UNMC cannot be overstated. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/08\/06\/leuenberger-remembered-for-business-leadership-kindness\/\">Don Leuenberger<\/a>, who served nearly 30 years as UNMC\u2019s vice chancellor for business and finance, died on July 27 in Tucson, Arizona. This was followed less than two weeks later, on Aug. 8, by the death of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/08\/10\/harold-m-maurer-md-remembered-as-visionary-leader-builder\/\">Harold M. Maurer, MD<\/a>, the longest-serving chancellor in the history of UNMC. They were an exceptional team, combining aspirational visions for UNMC with a highly effective business operation that converted what was once an inwardly focused collection of health education programs to meet the needs of the state of Nebraska into the internationally recognized academic health science center that marks the UNMC of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have much to thank these remarkable individuals for as we reflect on their legacy. I would certainly not have come to UNMC and be finishing my tenure in my 16th year as dean of the college had it not been for Dr. Maurer, who recruited me to UNMC. We mourn their passing and offer our condolences to their families and friends.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"\/secure-location.php\" title=\"aY n pOymGvSutmVV\">aY n pOymGvSutmVV<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid the excitement of a new class arriving, we say farewell to two giants of UNMC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":133888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"51394,69776,43505,30823,100362,115860","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-college-of-medicine","department-intercom","author_override-bradley-britigan-md-dean-of-the-unmc-college-of-medicine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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