Four individuals will be honored for their extraordinary service during the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s May 5 commencement ceremony in Omaha. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Gerald W. Luckey, M.D., will receive the J.G. Elliott Award for his more than 34 years of service to rural Nebraska as an outstanding physician, leader, educator and innovator in rural medicine practice.
Dr. Luckey has been a practicing physician at Butler County Community Hospital and the Butler County Clinic in David City, Neb., since 1977. As a preceptor, he has served as a teacher and mentor to hundreds of medical students and health professionals in rural Nebraska, and helped instill the importance of caring and compassion in the field of medicine.
He’s a leader in the Rural Comprehensive Care Network’s Rural Road Practicum for medical students — a program that gives students hands-on experience and firsthand exposure to the scope of rural family practice.
The J.G. Elliott Award is given annually in memory of Jack Elliott, a former Scottsbluff resident, who served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents for 20 years, until his death in 1974.
Honorary Doctor of Science degree
Gang Pei, Ph.D., will receive the Honorary Doctor of Science degree in recognition of his outstanding contributions to scientific research and for his role in fostering a collaborative relationship between China and Nebraska, and between Tongji University and UNMC.
Dr. Pei is president of Tongji University in Shanghai. Along with Harold M. Maurer, M.D., chancellor of UNMC, Dr. Pei led the effort to solidify scientific collaboration between the two universities.
The collaboration includes a joint medical education program, translational research and family medicine training and Tongji student participation in UNMC’s M.D./Ph.D. program — part of the first professional doctoral degree training program between the U.S. and China.
Dr. Pei’s support and leadership were also crucial in UNMC’s establishment of a Shanghai Joint Sino-U.S. Family Medicine Training/Cooperation Center.
Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award
Fred and Eve Simon will receive the UNMC Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award for their longtime friendship to UNMC and for their steadfast support of biomedical research to mitigate some of society’s most devastating diseases.
The Simons have a long history of service to the community. When the Simon family began its company, what is now Omaha Steaks, in 1917, its number one priority was customer satisfaction. The happiness of their customers was the Simon family’s greatest focus and that still continues today, nearly 100 years later.
Fred Simon, the executive vice president of Omaha Steaks, and his wife, Eve, donate much time and resources to causes such as the American Lung Association of Nebraska, the Jewish Federation Foundation, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and Operations Council of the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.