UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and his wife, Beverly, will be honored at The Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures’ annual tribute luncheon to be held April 28 at the Happy Hollow Club.
Speakers at the tribute will include: Coalition Board Chairman Dave Crouse, Ph.D.; Dick Holland; Jennifer Larsen, M.D., UNMC vice chancellor for research; and Mike and Gail Yanney, M.D.
Dr. Maurer has served as UNMC’s chancellor since December 1998.
During his tenure, UNMC’s external research funding tripled, with research dollars now at $94.3 million annually. Among his other accomplishments as chancellor, Dr. Maurer secured $14 million annually in tobacco settlement funds from the state to support biomedical research; created a vice chancellor for research position; developed programs in regenerative medicine, nanomedicine, drug delivery and bioterrorism preparedness; and raised close to $1 billion in philanthropy for the medical center.
The Durham Research Center and Durham Research Center II are among the numerous facilities built exclusively – or nearly exclusively – with private support. Combined, the DRC and DRC II have more than 200 laboratories dedicated to biomedical research.
“I would like for my legacy to be, ‘He built research at UNMC,'” Dr. Maurer said. “I’m also very proud of our many accomplishments in education, clinical care and community outreach.”
One very visible honor for the Maurers came in 2011 when, at the insistence of donors, the new public health building was named the Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health.
In September 2012, Dr. Maurer announced that he would make the transition to a fundraising role for the new Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Beverly Maurer is a former school principal. She serves on numerous civic boards, including the Joslyn Museum and the Omaha Community Playhouse and is a full-time volunteer at UNMC. She assists with recruiting, orchestrating functions, developing community support and fundraising.
It was Beverly, along with a handful of others in 2001 who saw a need for an organization supporting open and free research in the state of Nebraska and who founded Nebraskans for Research, the organization which joined with and became Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures.
The Maurers have been married for more than 50 years. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.