With 2014 just around the corner, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the many exciting things that will be happening in the College of Medicine and UNMC in the new year.
We should all be especially thrilled to see the search for a new chancellor come to a successful conclusion with the recruitment of Dr. Jeff Gold from the University of Toledo.
He will be joining UNMC on Feb. 1, and he looks to be an excellent fit to be the next chancellor of our medical center. During my visits with him it is clear that he has a tremendous depth of understanding of the educational, clinical and research missions of an academic medical center, and he firmly believes that each component is equally important.
During his recent employee forum at UNMC, Dr. Gold made clear that he was encouraged by the changes being made with our One Team initiative. He will have a major role in that process as he assumes the role of chair of the board that will oversee the newly created clinical enterprise.
Although change is never easy, the medical center’s new organizational structure will uniquely position us to withstand the dramatic changes that lie ahead.
The challenges will be plentiful. We must strive to sustain federally funded research, embrace our country’s changing health care model, and find solutions to the ongoing issues of patient access, clinical workforce shortages and cost containment.
It won’t be easy, but I’m confident that 2014 will be a great year for the College of Medicine and UNMC. Working together – as one team – we can take our institution to new heights.
Thanks for all your great work during the past year. In particular, on behalf of the College of Medicine, I would like to thank Dr. Harold M. Maurer and Mr. Glenn Fosdick for their outstanding leadership of UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center, respectively, during their tenures. We wish them both the best as they move on to the next phase of their careers.
My best wishes to each of you for a happy and healthy new year!