The University of Nebraska Board of Regents gave unanimous approval Friday for a College of Public Health to be established on UNMC campus. At the same time, the board also unanimously approved the appointment of Jay Noren, M.D., as the founding dean of the COPH. Dr. Noren has been serving as executive vice president, provost, and dean of the graduate college of the University of Nebraska since 2002.
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There are only 38 public health colleges currently in the U.S. The UNMC college will be the only one west of the Missouri River except for programs in Texas, California, Arizona, Oklahoma and Washington. |
“The time is right,” Dr. Maurer said. “Our mission is to improve the health of Nebraska. We firmly believe that the College of Public Health would make a huge difference in helping us meet this goal.”
NU President James B. Milliken said the project was among the few he could remember to receive such unanimous and positive endorsement by the Board of Regents.
During the next five years UNMC will provide support for the new college by reallocating nearly $3.6 million in existing resources, infusing dedicated Programs of Excellence funds amounting to more than $5 million and bringing in more than $6.5 in research grants and contracts. The reallocation of current resources will come primarily from several UNMC departments, which will provide existing faculty to the COPH – Preventive and Societal Medicine, the Rural Health Education Network (RHEN), the Health Professions Tracking Center (HPTC) and the Biosecurity Center – as well as other ongoing Programs of Excellence.
To move forward on the COPH, UNMC still needs to receive final approval from the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.