News briefs

Jeff Harrison, M.D. (left) and Wendy Grant, M.D. (right)

Changes announced in admissions and student affairs office

With the upcoming retirement on June 30 of Jeff Hill, M.D., who has served as associate dean for admissions and student affairs for nearly 30 years, several personnel changes will take place in the admissions and student affairs office, said Gerald Moore, M.D., senior associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Medicine.

On the admissions side, Jeff Harrison, M.D., professor and vice chair, family medicine, will serve as associate dean, while Beau Konigsberg, M.D., associate professor, orthopaedic surgery, will serve as assistant dean. Lindsay Meyer, admissions/recruitment coordinator, academic affairs office, will provide administrative support.

On the student affairs side, Wendy Grant, M.D., professor, surgery-transplant, will serve as associate dean, while Alan Erickson, M.D., associate professor, internal medicine-rheumatology, will serve as assistant dean. Lisa Paquette, office associate I, academic affairs office, will provide administrative support.

Dr. Moore also announced that Sue Pope, academic affairs program coordinator, will take on new responsibilities as special assistant to Dr. Moore and will provide assistance for his role as senior associate dean for academic affairs.

Dr. Beck Dallaghan honored for work with pediatric medical student education

Gary Beck Dallaghan, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and assistant dean for medical education, received the 2018 Research and Scholarship Award from the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics at the annual meeting in Denver on April 12.  The COMSEP Research and Scholarship Award is given to an individual who has contributed substantially to advancing the field of pediatric medical student education through their research and scholarly work. 

Dr. Simonsen named interim assistant vice chancellor for faculty affairs

Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dele Davies, M.D., has announced leadership changes in academic affairs to better integrate and coordinate support for faculty.

Kari Simonsen, M.D., will spearhead the creation of the Office of Faculty Affairs and has been named interim assistant vice chancellor for faculty affairs. She currently serves as vice chair for clinical and academic affairs in the Department of Pediatrics and division chief of pediatric infectious diseases.

"The creation of the Office of Faculty Affairs will ultimately lead to more efficient allocation of resources and enhanced support of faculty. Dr. Simonsen is a wonderful fit for this position because she possesses the leadership skills, collaborative spirit and passion for developing faculty that is necessary to making the office a success," Dr. Davies said. 

Under the new structure, the assistant vice chancellor for faculty development role has been eliminated. Instead, the assistant vice chancellor for faculty affairs will lead the newly established Office of Faculty Affairs and oversee the activities of Faculty Development, Interprofessional Academy of Educators, Interprofessional Education and the Office of Equity, as well as work closely with the Faculty Mentoring program. Dr. Davies also noted this reorganization is occurring within the current allocated budget of the units involved.

"Faculty are one of our most valuable resources for impacting the success of students and residents and advancing UNMC's mission. As such, we need to ensure they have an inclusive environment that supports their ongoing development, personal well-being and professional effectiveness," Dr. Simonsen said.

Her vision is to create an office that serves as a central access point for UNMC faculty by providing the guidance, resources and training they need to achieve teaching, research and scholarship success.

"I look forward to this opportunity to create synergy across programs, as well as support avenues for the advancement of junior faculty, women and faculty from underrepresented groups," Dr. Simonsen said.

Registration open for Bone Marrow Failure Disorders Symposium

The "Bone Marrow Failure Disorders Symposium: Emphasis on Special Patient Populations and Novel Approaches" will be held on May 15. Registration is now open for the symposium, which involves a review of the frequent challenges encountered when managing acquired and congenital causes of bone marrow failure. There will be an emphasis on how the multidisciplinary team assists with overcoming these challenges among complex patients as well as transplant recipients. Current state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic approaches also will be discussed related to the recent advances in the molecular testing and drug development in the field of leukemia and other myeloid malignancies. For more information or to register by May 8, click here.

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