The University of Nebraska Medical Center has announced its Student Senate officers for 2009.
The new officers by college and hometown include:
President – Brad Bohn, College of Medicine, Ravenna, Neb.;
Vice president – Andrew Klutman, College of Medicine, Columbus, Neb.;
Treasurer – Branden Nemecek, College of Pharmacy, Kearney, Neb.;
Secretary – Jeremy Peterson, College of Medicine, Atkinson, Neb.
At an inaugural reception for the new officers last month, outgoing Student Senate President Curtis McKnight, College of Medicine, surprised UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., with a pair of black UNMC ice skates.
McKnight, who is from Fremont, Neb., gave the ice skates to Dr. Maurer to acknowledge the chancellor’s plans to put an ice skating rink on the newly created student plaza.
The student plaza was made possible by a donation from Omahans Ruth and Bill Scott. The ice skating rink should be ready by next winter.
Dr. Maurer praised the work of McKnight and the Student Senate, noting how they convinced campus leaders to work toward a smoking ban on campus and how their support of faculty salary increases made a difference to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
"Students are very busy, but I think there is still room for us to be more involved in student government," McKnight said.
Incoming president Bohn, who served as UNMC Student Senate vice president last year, said he hopes to engage more students in campus issues, while assisting campus leaders and regents on budgetary issues and other challenges that lie ahead.
"The great thing about challenges is not that we have to face them, but that we get to face them and really rise up," he said.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.