UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, said UNMC has been very fortunate, over the past decade, to have a “tremendous amount of stability” within its leadership ranks.
In fact, Dr. Gold said, UNMC has had only one dean change and one vice chancellor change during his eight-plus years at the helm.
The changes that UNMC is experiencing now are not surprising, he said, noting the average turnover for many of these leadership positions is 3.5 to four years.
“Transitions are hard … especially when they are grouped together as they are now,” he said during the all-campus forum on Tuesday, Sept. 6. “I have a great deal of confidence in our search process. None of these are ‘fixer-upper opportunities.’ In each, we’re looking to recruit from a position of strength, and we’ll deal with the transitions as they occur.”
Members of the medical center community can view the forum.
Searches currently are underway for several deans who either have announced plans to retire or been recruited for opportunities elsewhere. Earlier this year, UNMC hired Anne Barnes as its new vice chancellor for business, finance and business development, and last week Ken Bayles, PhD, was named the new vice chancellor for research, pending approval by the NU Board of Regents.
Dr. Bayles is a professor in the UNMC Department of Pathology and Microbiology, associate vice chancellor for basic science research at UNMC and associate vice chancellor for research and creative activity at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Pending approval, he will assume the vice chancellor’s duties on Oct. 1.
Succession planning and leadership development, Dr. Gold said, are part of UNMC’s strategic planning process and have been for most of the past decade. “I have a lot of confidence moving forward,” he said.
Finalists brought to campus, regardless of the search, are talented individuals, he said, but as important to the hiring process is the culture fit, innovation and willingness to look at the med center as a family.
COVID-19, monkeypox updates
With the new school year and increased density on campus, UNMC’s COVID-19 case numbers, which had been flat, have increased slightly, said Jane Meza, PhD, interim executive director for health security for UNMC.
Said Dr. Gold, “COVID is still clearly in our communities.”
For now, UNMC’s campus COVID-19 guidelines remain unchanged, Dr. Meza said, although leaders continue to evaluate the data to see whether masking adjustments can be made without creating confusion, especially given that patient-facing spaces require masking.
Updated COVID-19 bivalent boosters now are available to everyone ages 12 and up, Dr. Meza said. These updated boosters offer protection against the latest omicron variants of BA.4 and BA.5, plus the original COVID-19 strain. Nebraska Medicine will offer the updated booster to the med center community as soon as supply is available – likely within a few weeks, she said. Watch UNMC Today for details.
Meanwhile, updates are being made to the 1-Check app, developed specifically for the medical center community, to allow for info on influenza, photo recognition of monkeypox rash and the ability to capture bivalent booster info, Dr. Gold said.
Dr. Gold noted the importance of destigmatizing conversations around monkeypox and encouraged individuals with confirmed exposures or those at high risk to get vaccinated. Anyone with symptoms or who may have been exposed should contact Employee Health or Student Health to arrange for testing.
In other matters, Dr. Gold:
- Reminded the audience that beginning Nov. 8, the University of Nebraska System will move to a more streamlined investment menu for participants in the retirement plan. Unless individuals want an automatic rollover, there is a limited window (Aug. 15 to Oct. 15) to exert choices through Fidelity, he said.
- Recognized the legacy of Robert Wigton, MD, who died Aug. 22. A memorial service will take place later this fall at the Wigton Heritage Center.
- Teased this year’s Breakthrough Thinking series, which will begin in October; campus enrollment numbers, which were released this week; and research award totals. Watch UNMC Today for details.
- Congratulated Ken Bayles, PhD, who has been named UNMC’s next vice chancellor for research, pending approval by the Board of Regents.
- Applauded the Stop the Bleed training sessions and the recent active shooter tabletop exercise done with the incident command team. Register now for the Sept. 14 Stop the Bleed training session.
- Encouraged faculty, staff and students to use the many campus wellness resources, including the new 988 national three-digit suicide prevention line. Given the many stressors both on campus and off, it’s important to reach out to colleagues and see how they are doing, express appreciation, show grace and look out for one another. “This is an amazingly caring institution,” Dr. Gold said. “We have a culture of people willing to go the extra mile to make patients, visitors, students and each other feel comfortable, appreciated and valued. We just don’t get an opportunity to say it enough.”
As always, Dr. Gold closed by expressing thanks to all of the UNMC family and his strong confidence in the future.