{"id":62984,"date":"2018-09-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/09\/21\/time-out-with-t-o-the-legend-of-dr-sorrell\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T17:22:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T22:22:13","slug":"time-out-with-t-o-the-legend-of-dr-sorrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/09\/21\/time-out-with-t-o-the-legend-of-dr-sorrell\/","title":{"rendered":"Time out with T.O. – The legend of Dr. Sorrell"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it’s all said and done, Michael Sorrell, M.D., could very well go down as the most transformative figure in the history of UNMC.<\/p>\n

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The building named in his honor<\/h3>\n

\nOn Thursday evening, an invitation-only event was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education. <\/p>\n

Few people ever get the privilege of having a building named in their honor, and usually it doesn’t happen until after they die. <\/p>\n

The lead donors on the Sorrell Center — Omaha philanthropists Ruth and Bill Scott — knew firsthand what a great physician Dr. Sorrell was. He had been their physician for years and took care of Bill in 2005 when he suffered a serious spinal cord injury while on a golf vacation in west-central Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Even though the Scotts could have had the building named after themselves, they elected to name the building after Dr. Sorrell.<\/p>\n

“For 50 plus years, Mike poured every ounce of his energy into making all of UNMC the best – No. 1,” Ruth Scott said. “Mike’s insight into the needs of UNMC were similar to our feelings about our old shoes — a perfect fit — reliable, comfortable and always dependable. <\/p>\n

“His guidance was instrumental in every project we were part of, and we take great pride in each and every one! Thank you, Mike — you are the BEST.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Sorrell was stunned by the generous gesture of the Scotts.<\/p>\n

“I had no idea,” he said. “You could have knocked me over with a feather.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Sorrell is proud of how the philanthropic community has rallied around UNMC\/Nebraska Medicine, just as he takes special pride in the five generations of his family who have gone through the University of Nebraska.<\/p>\n

“Amazing things have happened here,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do what we did without the philanthropic support. <\/p>\n

“The tremendous leadership and vision of (chancellors) Charlie Andrews and Hal Maurer was critical. Our facilities were poor. Philanthropy allowed us to build new facilities and recruit outstanding faculty – that’s been the secret to our success.” <\/p>\n