As we celebrate the arrival of new faculty, staff and students, we also will be losing two individuals who have been great friends of the college over their time at UNMC — Janet Guthmiller, DDS, PhD, dean of the UNMC College of Dentistry, and Emily McElroy, dean of the McGoogan Health Sciences Library.
Dr. Guthmiller will be departing later this month to assume the role of dean of the school of dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dean McElroy is also heading south, to the University of Florida-Gainesville, where she will serve as associate dean for research and health sciences for the George A. Smathers Libraries.
Dr. Guthmiller has been a great partner in improving collaboration between medicine and dentistry in education, research and patient care, overcoming the distance between dentistry’s Lincoln-based location and our site here in Omaha. Without Dean McElroy, the wonderful renovation of the McGoogan Library and creation of the Wigton Heritage Center that we all now are enjoying would not have been possible, as well as the tremendous support we receive from library staff in achieving our collegiate missions.
Dr. Guthmiller, Dean McElroy, on behalf of all members of the UNMC College of Medicine, please accept our thanks for all you have done for UNMC and best wishes in your new roles.
At the end of this year, we will also be saying goodbye to Juliann Sebastian, PhD, dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, as she transitions into retirement. Dr. Sebastian has been a visionary leader for nursing across the state, overseeing five different Nebraska campuses. Dr. Sebastian’s optimism and dedication to the success and emotional well-being of her students, staff and faculty is something that I have long admired.
Finally, after more than a decade and once her successor is named, Jennifer Larsen, MD, will be transitioning out of her role as vice chancellor for research but continuing to serve as a member of our internal medicine faculty. Dr. Larsen’s vision and support have been critical in the tremendous growth of research in our college during her tenure. It has been a pleasure working with her.
I would be remiss if I did not take time to also acknowledge the tragic loss of another member of our UNMC community: David Bolam, MD, a longtime member of the UNMC Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics, who died a few weeks ago. A member of our faculty for more than 50 years, Dr. Bolam passed away only a week after his retirement. His legacy lives on in the many medical students and residents he trained and the many young lives he saved throughout his career.
In addition, several senior faculty in the college have chosen this year to retire. They are too many to mention here, but our thanks and best wishes to them as well.
On Aug. 19, the incoming class will be welcomed in the annual White Coat Ceremony, which will take place this year at the Orpheum Theater. We look forward to all that these students will accomplish in the years ahead.