On Sept. 13, 71 members of the UNMC faculty were inducted as fellows into the Interprofessional Academy of Educators.
It was the first induction class for the academy, which was created to provide a vibrant interprofessional community of educators to create a resource to elevate the level of teaching across all colleges and share innovations with UNMC’s alumni and community partners.
Geoffrey Talmon, M.D., director of the academy, said that he was grateful for the response that the IAE has had from all UNMC faculty and stakeholders.
“There has been nothing but support from everyone,” Dr. Talmon said. “All of the people involved in the organization are truly committed to making our educational experiences here the best in the world and the institution’s community has been well aligned at all levels to bring this about.”
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dele Davies, M.D., who attended the event, said the installation of the inaugural class of fellows represented the academy’s formal launching and was an important crossroads for educational excellence at UNMC.
“Installation of the fellows will enable an escalation of faculty-to-faculty peer mentoring in support of teaching, creation of new and innovative curricula and encourage greater scholarly work in areas spanning themes such as simulation, clinical teaching, wellness and rural health education,” Dr. Davies said. “Being one of only six interprofessional academies of education in the U.S. allows UNMC to continue our leadership role in shaping the future of interprofessional education.”
Inductee Howard Liu, M.D., called the ceremony the culmination of a 20-year journey of enhancing the educational culture at UNMC.
“Pioneers like Dr. Myrna Newland, Dr. Charlie Krobot, and many others planted the seed for the academy, and we are delighted to see it germinate into the current academy leadership and interest groups,” Dr. Liu said. “The impact of the academy will be measured through the individual mentorship of UNMC teachers and the expansion of educational scholarship as a campus.”
Dr. Liu also thanked UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., Dr. Davies, the deans, the NU Foundation, and the sponsorship of community champions and the College of Medicine Alumni Association for making the academy a reality.
The next steps for the academy, Dr. Talmon said, are to form the 71 members into interest groups that will allow each of them to interact and collaborate with those with similar interests across all units at UNMC.
For more information on the Interprofessional Academy of Educators, click here.
There are many outstanding educators in this inaugural group. I have had the pleasure of seeing some in action. Congratulations to all.