Celebration tea is June 28
A celebration tea for Marsha Morien will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, in Private Dining Rooms A, B and C on the third floor of University Tower.
The campus is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.
Remarks will begin at 2:30 p.m. Speakers will include William Lawlor, Byers “Bud” Shaw, M.D., and Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D.
Marsha Morien had no idea what she was getting into.
It was 1974. She had just finished getting her MSBA degree from Indiana University, and she and her husband, Neal, had moved to Omaha so that he could begin a new job with the Mutual of Omaha Companies.
A Philadelphia native, Morien saw Omaha as merely one stop in their life’s journey.
“I told Neal there’s no way I was staying in Omaha more than 10 years,” she said.
But then it happened — she landed a job as fiscal officer for the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute at UNMC.
The Morien file
- 1969 – B.A., Alfred University, Alfred, N.Y.
- 1973 – M.S.B.A., Indiana University, Fort Wayne, Ind.
- 1974-1984 – Budget and fiscal officer/hospital administration, Nebraska Psychiatric Institute
- 1984-1992 – Assistant director, University of Nebraska Hospital
- 1992-1997 – Associate director, University of Nebraska Hospital
- 1997-1999 – Director, University of Nebraska Hospital, solid organ transplantation
- 1999-present – Chief administrative officer, computer assisted surgery, UNMC business and finance
- 1999-2008 – Business director, clinical software applications team, UNMC Department of Surgery
- 2001-present – Program director, Center for Biosecurity, University of Nebraska
- 2005-present – Executive director, Center for Advanced Surgical Technology, and administrative director, Minimally Invasive Surgical Center, UNMC
- 2007-present – Instructor, UNMC College of Public Health
- 2013-present – Export control compliance officer, UNMC
- 2014-present – Director of research compliance, National Strategic Research Institute, University of Nebraska
- 2015-present – International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) empowered official, UNMC
- Participated on 14 completed research grants and five currently active grants
- 1999 – Fellow, Healthcare Administration, American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
- 1984 – Fellow, Healthcare Finance, Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
- 2009 – Greater Omaha Area Women of Distinction, Midlands Business Journal
- Has received multiple awards from the ACHE and HFMA
- Co-author – more than 20 articles/abstracts for scientific journals
- Presenter – 30 scientific conferences
NPI eventually was phased out, but Morien was on her way. She landed a position in hospital administration, and before you knew it, she was the administrator overseeing the medical center’s shining star — solid organ transplantation.
In 1999, Don Leuenberger, UNMC’s vice chancellor for business and finance, recruited Morien to “advance technology on campus and make it come alive.”
For the past 19 years, she has done just that.
She helped develop a collaboration between UNMC and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to explore minimally invasive/robotic surgery options.
She became a player in UNMC’s biosecurity efforts, public health and export control.
The word was out. If you needed something done — and done well — Morien was your person. She was resourceful, skilled in strategic planning and adept at seeing the big picture.
She also was quite connected, dealing with a ton of people in her various roles.
Working on the third floor of Wittson Hall — the busiest thoroughfare of the medical center — Morien was able to merely walk down the hall “to conduct business.”
After 44 years, Morien’s long run will end Sept. 4. Retirement beckons. She and Neal have bought a place in Arizona. The next chapter is about to begin.
She looks back on her medical center career with fond memories.
“I can’t imagine another place that would have kept me engaged for this long — given me the opportunity to do so many new and different things,” she said. “Most of all, I’ve been able to work with so many fabulous people — that’s what’s so special.
“Sometimes you have to make your own things happen. I’ve had some unbelievable experiences. I was in the same room with astronauts discussing surgical options in outer space. I got to do so much — and get paid for it! I couldn’t have asked for more.”
You have done a lot for UNMC Marsha. Those who you pitched for were very lucky to have you. Best wishes for a happy retirement .
Marsha, it has been a pleasure to work with you over the years and I wish you all the best as you move into this next chapter in your life!
Congrats, Marsha! I've always enjoyed working with you. Enjoy this next chapter in your life!
Always glad to be on the same team, Marsha! It's been great working with you and getting to know you over the years. Enjoy the new adventures still to come.
Marsha in a consummate professional. Accountability is her middle name. She has been a lifeline for so many challenges at UNMC, and an absolute delight to work with on so many matters of an incredibly wide variety. Onward. Rick
Marsha, I have enjoyed the times I had the opportunity to work with you. I will miss seeing you around campus. Enjoy Arizona.
Marsha, I'm not certain how we managed to bring you into the CoPH fold, but I'm so glad it worked. CoPH is a richer place because of you. Thanks for your invaluable help in establishing the principles on which its governance is founded.
All the best to you Marsha.
Enjoy retirement to its fullest. All the best to you and Neal on your next life's journey.
Marsha, it was a pleasure meeting and working with you. I wish you the best!
I’ve her only as a great friend and she is the best. Congrats to you and Neal and happiness in your move to Arizona. Randy Weckerly
Marsha – I'm going to miss having you around…something I've had the pleasure of since my first day at UNMC. I have fond memories of working with you on many different fronts. Good luck and much happiness to you!
Congrats Marcia! Cheers to you and thanks for your service to UNMC
Congrats Marcia! Looking forward to golfing with you this summer – may the next chapter of your and Neal's be as exciting as the past ones have been.