A message from the dean

The dean’s office held a small party on Sept. 13 as a retirement celebration and farewell for Dr. Harold M. Maurer. It’s truly the end of an era, marking a 25-year commitment of Hal and his wife, Beverly, to UNMC.
 
For faculty, staff and students who joined UNMC after Hal stepped down as chancellor of UNMC, you may not have a full sense of the impact that he had on UNMC beyond the buildings and spaces on campus named in Hal and Beverly’s honor.
 
I’d like to take a few minutes and reflect on how Hal and Beverly indelibly left their mark on UNMC and the College of Medicine.
 
Hal was recruited to UNMC in 1993 to become the dean of the College of Medicine. At the time, he was the chair of the department of pediatrics at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He also was a successful researcher and one of the world’s experts in rhabdomyosarcoma, a childhood cancer.
 
Hal and Beverly also had spent their entire lives up until that point on the East Coast. There’s a classic story that Hal often tells that bears repeating. When he was being recruited to UNMC to become dean of the College of Medicine in 1993, he also was being considered for a dean position at another school on the East Coast.
 
After talking to colleagues around the country, Hal was convinced that his best opportunity was in Omaha at UNMC. He told Beverly that he was going to Omaha. Beverly was less than excited. Her response was, "Have a good life."
 
Thankfully, Hal was able to convince Beverly to make the move to Omaha, and the Maurers worked together as a team to transform the medical center campus. Hal served as dean for five years before serving as chancellor from 1998-2014 – by six years the longest term ever served by a UNMC chancellor.
 
When he arrived in Omaha, Hal was committed to transform UNMC into a top academic health science center, which meant that the research program needed an infusion of talent, infrastructure and resources. Our research facilities were lacking, which in turn limited our ability to attract the best research faculty, so that became his first focus as chancellor.
 
The Maurers developed strong connections to Nebraska’s philanthropic community. After putting in a full day at the office, Hal would drive home to pick up Beverly, and they would begin the second half of their day with dinner with a potential donor.
 
He raised funding for the twin Durham Research Centers on the west end of campus, then he began to work on creating the academic campus on the opposite end of campus. Under his leadership, the Sorrell Center, which houses the College of Medicine, was constructed, as well as new buildings for the colleges of nursing and public health. Finally, he got the ball rolling for the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and the new pharmacy building.
 
As amazing as all the new buildings were, I think Hal’s lasting legacy at UNMC was how he changed the culture. He got people to believe that UNMC was indeed a world-class academic medical center that was capable of accomplishing anything. Our research flourished.  He successfully navigated the political criticism from some dealing with our use of fetal/stem cells.
 
During his tenure the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit was established, which has turned out to be a facility that sets UNMC apart from everyone else in the country. He led the development of the concept of an interdisciplinary cancer center and secured funding from state, county and city sources that assured the philanthropic community that what became the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center was a concept worth supporting.
 
Hal was a leader who hired talented people who he then trusted to get the job done, while always remaining available if his help or advice was needed. I will always be grateful for the confidence that Hal placed in me when he selected me to lead the College of Medicine as dean in 2011.
 
As we approach the annual Alumni Reunion on Oct. 11-12, it is interesting to note that the medical school class celebrating its 25th anniversary this year was just graduating when Hal finished his first year as College of Medicine dean. As the class of 1994 reflects on the changes that have occurred at UNMC since their graduation, those changes make up the legacy of Hal Maurer.
 
The Maurers have had a tremendous impact on our medical center over the past quarter century. Hal and Beverly have permanently moved to Tampa, Fla., with an occasional return to Omaha to see friends and colleagues. We wish them all the best in the next chapter of their partnership.