UNMC will honor four individuals for their dedication and support to
UNMC and the health professions during its May 14 commencement ceremony
in Omaha. The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Qwest Center Exhibition
Hall C for students in the College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College
of Nursing Omaha division, School of Allied Health Professions and the
Graduate College.
UNMC will award its Distinguished Service Award to Mary and Richard
Holland for their outstanding support of UNMC, and award an Honorary Doctor
of Science degree posthumously to Jack L. Pulec, M.D., in recognition of
his accomplishments in improving the health of people through excellence
in otolaryngology.
The J.G. (Jack) Elliott Award, given annually to a Nebraska resident
who has made significant contributions to medicine and health programs
for the State of Nebraska and UNMC, will be bestowed upon Jay Druecker,
Ph.D, who was instrumental in the development of the Rural Health Opportunities
Program (RHOP) curriculum and activities at Chadron State College.
Chancellors Distinguished Service Award
Mary and Richard Holland are longtime philanthropic supporters in the
Omaha community. Their generous gift to UNMC established the Holland Cardiovascular
Research Laboratories on the fifth floor of the Durham Research Center.
The couples broad giving interests include establishing the Robert
T. Reilly Professorship of Communication at the University of Nebraska
at Omaha. Their generosity has extended to such local arts institutions
as Opera Omaha, the Omaha Symphony, and the Joslyn Art Museum, and to community
organizations such as the Child Saving Institute, All Our Kids Inc., and
the Nature Conservancy. The Hollands also are key contributors to the efforts
to build a performing arts center, which is currently under construction
in downtown Omaha.
A retired advertising executive, Richard Holland is the vice president
of the Omaha Performing Arts Society. The president of Opera Omaha from
1966 to 1970, Richard Holland currently is vice chairman of the board of
the Opera Omaha Foundation, which handles the organizations endowment.
Mary Holland was a princess of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1947 and a member of the
Junior League of Omaha. For many years, Mary has been interested in the
problems of children and young adults. She is supportive and directly involved
in efforts to curtail those problems, at times assisting children whom
she feels need support.
The UNMC Chancellors Distinguished Service Award is given to individuals
or organizations that have demonstrated outstanding support for UNMC by
way of personal service, private contributions or other meritorious advocacy
for the campus mission.
Honorary Doctor of Science
Jack L. Pulec, M.D., was a respected clinician and educator, a widely
published author, and an active researcher in the fields of neurotology
and otolaryngology.
Born and raised in Crete, Neb., Dr. Pulec graduated from the College
of Medicine at UNMC in 1957. After a year as a resident in obstetrics and
gynecology at
UNMC, Dr. Pulec completed an otolaryngology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic
and a neurotology fellowship at the Los Angeles Foundation of Otology.
Dr. Pulec continued to practice in Los Angeles and was an active, contributing
member of the Los Angeles Foundation of Otology, participating in medical
and surgical aspects of neurotology. He served on the faculty of several
medical schools, culminating with his appointment in 2001 as clinical professor
of otolaryngology and neurosurgery at the University of Southern California
School of Medicine.
An avid world traveler, Dr. Pulec lectured and performed numerous surgeries
internationally. He was devoted to educating and providing service to those
who had little means to pay for such services. In 1977, he began a non-profit
foundation, Ear International.
An acknowledged innovator, Dr. Pulec authored more than 200 publications,
many of which are definitive. For more than 11 years, Dr. Pulec served
as the editor-in-chief of Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. He is credited
with raising the standards and enhancing the quality of the publication.
Until the his tragic death while skiing in 2003, Dr. Pulec remained
active in private practice in neurotology, as well as teaching and conducting
research with a view of developing new, more advanced methods of treating
neurological disease. His wife, Marlene, will accept the award on her husbands
behalf.
J.G. Elliott Award
Jay Druecker, Ph.D., has improved the health care of Nebraskans through
his tireless efforts to provide rural students with the education, encouragement
and opportunities necessary for their success in becoming a health care
professional.
A native of Murray, Neb., Dr. Druecker began his teaching career at
Chadron State College in 1968. In the late 1970s, he took a sabbatical
from Chadron State and enrolled in anatomy and pathology courses at UNMC.
During that year, Dr. Druecker helped interview students who were applying
to medical school and attended functions for health professions advisors.
The relationships Dr. Druecker built, and then maintained, were paramount
in Chadron State being selected as
UNMCs first Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP) partner. RHOP
grants admission into participating UNMC programs to qualifying students
upon completion of their undergraduate studies.
Along with Dr. Ted Davis, Dr. Druecker was instrumental and a key driving
force in the development of the RHOP curriculum and activities at Chadron
State College. He served for many years as the primary advisor for students
interested in the health care profession at Chadron State. Through his
leadership efforts, more than 70 RHOP health professionals now are working
in rural Nebraska. Another of Dr. Drueckers initiatives is the Health
Professional Day at Chadron State, which began in the mid-1980s. Through
this program, more than 3,000 rural students have been exposed to health
career education opportunities in Nebraska.
Dr. Druecker retired from full-time teaching duties in the spring of
2003. He remained on the staff part time during the current school year
to advise students who sought to enter the health professions. Dr. Druecker
and his wife, Jane, a home health physical therapist, have two grown sons.
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 until his death in 1974.