UNMC honors 11 individuals at Alumni Reunion

Eleven individuals — including four current faculty members and philanthropist Ruth Scott — received awards during this year’s University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Alumni Reunion in Omaha.

 

 

 

UNMC College of Nursing Alumni Association — Ruth Scott

UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association — John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D.

UNMC College of Pharmacy Alumni Association  — R. Desmond Gibson, Ph.D.

UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association — Myrna Newland, M.D., 1964, and Robert Wigton, M.D., 1969

UNMC College of Nursing Alumni Association — Linda Hemminger, R.N., M.S.N., 1985

UNMC College of Pharmacy Alumni Association — Sidney Stohs, B.S.P., 1962, M.S., 1964, Ph.D.

UNMC School of Allied Health Professions — Dan Chambers – BS, MPAS, PA-C, 1976, 2001

UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association — J. Scott Neumeister, M.D., 1995

UNMC College of Pharmacy Alumni Association — Sara Burda Alvarez – Pharm.D., 2002

UNMC College of Nursing Alumni Association/Nursing Excellence Award — Michelle Kowalczyk – B.S.N., 2004, M.S.N., 2010

 

Ruth Scott and her husband, Bill, are deeply rooted and invested in the Omaha community where they have lived for nearly 55 years. They contribute to its progress, health and vitality in a quiet but exceptional way.

 

When the Scotts learned of the nursing shortage across Nebraska and nationwide, they wanted to be part of the solution. Ruth’s passion for nursing and the health of others inspired their decision to make the lead gift to the Center for Nursing Science at UNMC.

 

The Scotts’ generosity has benefited key UNMC priorities in education, research and patient care. Recently, Ruth and Bill have provided the lead gifts for the construction of the Sorrell Center for Health Science Education and the Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health as well as development of the Student Plaza.

 

In 2009, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents presented Ruth and Bill Scott with its most prestigious award, the Regents Medal, for their extraordinary contributions to the university’s academic programs, scholarships and facilities. Ruth Scott earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1952. She taught school in Lincoln and later founded the Omaha Bridge Studio.

 

 

A native of Tasmania, Dr. Gollan earned his medical degree from Adelaide University in Australia and his doctorate degree from the University of London. His distinguished academic career has included stints at the University of California, San Francisco, Harvard Medical School and Adelaide University.

In 2001, he returned to the United States when he was named the Henry J. Lehnhoff Professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. He was appointed dean of the UNMC College of Medicine in 2003, a post he held until stepping down in 2010. 

 

An active investigator, Dr. Gollan has been funded by the National Institutes of Health with a major research interest in hepatic transport and metabolism. He has held leadership positions in a number of professional organizations, including serving as president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Association for the Study of the Liver.

 

 

 

Dr. Newland received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Dakota in 1962 and her medical degree from the UNMC College of Medicine in 1964. Upon completing her residency and fellowship in the department of anesthesiology, she began her career at UNMC as an instructor in the department of surgery in 1968. Dr. Newland joined the department of anesthesiology in 1972 and became a full professor in 2001, a position she currently holds.

 

Dr. Newland is currently the director of the Equity Office at UNMC and chairs the ombudsman team for UNMC. Her activities include leading faculty development at UNMC. Her teaching activities include facilitating problem-based learning cases for first-year students and coordinating the weekly mortality and morbidity conference in the department of anesthesiology.

 

Dr. Newland is married to James R. Newland, M.D., emeritus professor of pathology at UNMC. They have three children.

 

Dr. Wigton grew up in Omaha and attended Central High School. After graduating from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965, he returned to UNMC for medical school, residency and a Master of Science degree in physiology. Since completing residency in internal medicine, he has been an attending physician and pursued interests in teaching, patient care and research. 

 

At UNMC, he has been associate dean for graduate medical education since 1976 and also was associate dean for academic affairs and chief of the section of general internal medicine. 

 

As author of more than 150 research publications and book chapters, he has received national recognition for his research in medical decision-making and medical education. Dr. Wigton enjoys studying medical history, particularly the history of the College of Medicine. He is married to Deborah Adkins, M.D. 

 

 

 

Dr. Stohs received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree in 1962 and his Master’s of Science in Natural Products and Biochemistry in 1964 from the University of Nebraska. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1967.

 

Dr. Stohs had a very distinguished career as a professor, department chair and assistant dean at the UNMC College of Pharmacy from 1967 to 1989. From 1990 until 2003, he served as dean of the Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. He is currently associated with Kitsto Consulting, Frisco, Texas, which specializes in nutrition and wellness, toxicology, research design, and organizational analysis. 

 

A prodigious researcher, Dr. Stohs has published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles in scientific and professional journals. He has served on a wide range of boards and committees for the National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention. 

 

 

Chambers received his bachelor’s degree from UNMC in 1976 and his Master of Physician Studies degree in 2001. He currently works as a clinical coordinator for the physician assistant program at the Des Moines University Clinic.

He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1972 serving as a flight surgeon medic. He flew over 50 missions and was awarded the Air Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation with Valor, and the Air Force Accommodation Medal. Chambers retired from the Iowa Army National Guard in 2000 after more than 21 years of service.

He is a founding board member and currently serves as vice president of UNMC’s Physician Assistant Alumni Association. He also serves on the advisory board and on several committees for the Des Moines University Area Health Education Center. 

 

A native of Lincoln, Dr. Neumeister earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991 and his medical degree from UNMC in 1995. He completed his internal medicine residency at UNMC and joined the faculty in 1998.

He is a favorite among medical students and residents, receiving six teaching awards over the past decade.  Dr. Neumeister maintains a massive teaching load. It’s estimated that he spends in excess of 1,000 hours annually in formal teaching settings. Each day, he is involved in small group sessions, typically involving three or four students.

He uses case studies to help make his points and gives daily quizzes to make sure medical students keep up on their readings. One way Dr. Neumeister keeps current is by taking the practice exam for second-year residents. He’s taken it 11 times and calls it “a cheap way to get ideas for teaching and to keep up on relevant topics.”

 

Dr. Burda Alvarez graduated from the UNMC College of Pharmacy in 2002 and completed a pharmacy practice residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Bethesda, Md., in 2003. She worked as a clinical pharmacist in the Weinberg Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins until 2006. 

 

In 2006, she accepted a position as assistant director of pharmacy services for Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, Wash., where she manages a team of 50 pharmacists and technicians. She also is a clinical instructor and clerkship director for the University of Washington Department of Pharmacy.

 

Dr. Burda Alvarez is a founding member of Phi Lambda Sigma, a pharmacy leadership society. She has received the Mortar and Pestle Professionalism Award from the American Pharmacists Association and the Barbara Manchester Osborne Outstanding Woman Leader Award. 

 

Kowalczyk graduated from the UNMC College of Nursing with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2004. She spent the next three years working as a travel nurse specializing in cardiology. 

 

In 2007, she went to Tanzania to volunteer and found a passion in a small village called Rau. She was instrumental in creating the Knock Foundation. Through the foundation, she helped supervise the completion of a community/children’s center in Rau and developed a healthy living seminar, which focuses on life skills and HIV/AIDS. 

 

In 2010, Kowalczyk received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the UNMC College of Nursing. At the end of December, she will return to the United States to begin working as an acute care nurse practitioner at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. She plans to pursue her doctoral degree in the next five years while focusing on international health and global development. 

 

Photos of award winners available at links below:

Alvarez –

Chambers –

Gibson –

Gollan –

Hemminger –

Kowalcyk –

Neumeister –

Newland –

Scott –

Stohs –

Wigton –

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