Last Thursday, we celebrated this year’s recipients of the UNMC Impact in Education Awards. This year College of Medicine faculty received six of the eight awards, with Dr. Allison Cushman-Vokoun being named the Varner Educator Laureate. (You can see the story about Dr. Cushman-Vokoun and the other winners in this issue of InterCOM.)
The college’s recipients came from a wide array of disciplines and five different departments. On behalf of the college, congratulations to these individuals for their well-deserved recognition. Thank you to these winners, and the rest of our faculty, for your passion for making the college’s undergraduate and postgraduate education programs outstanding.
Also, the annual residency match process now is less than two weeks away. The results will once again be conveyed to our senior students, their family and friends at a celebratory event at the Scott Conference Center on the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Friday, March 15. Seating is limited but the activities can be followed on a live stream feed, which is in the Match Day preview story below. This is an exciting but anxiety-provoking experience for all, and we certainly wish everyone success in matching to their specialty area of choice and desired program.
Finally, I would like to note the recent deaths of two individuals who had a tremendous impact on our UNMC campus and Nebraska Medicine.
First, Mr. Bruce Lauritzen, who passed away on Feb. 21. Mr. Lauritzen had a huge impact throughout the Omaha area. But it was through his leadership on the board of the Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine and Clarkson Regional Health Service that he played a major role in shaping the clinical aspects of our campus and the creation of Nebraska Medicine. His efforts will continue to touch almost every aspect of the missions of the college for years to come.
The second loss is Mr. Bill Scott, who died Feb. 27. Mr. Scott and his wife, Ruth, are well known for their tremendous generosity, which has shaped much of the development of the UNMC campus over the past few decades. They were lead or major donors for essentially every major building and, of course, the green space between them, notably the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza. In addition, they have been strong supporters of many new programs in the college, including major efforts in precision medicine, lymphoma/leukemia, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Mr. Lauritzen and Mr. Scott will be deeply missed, but the legacy that they leave at UNMC, and our college, will live on for decades to come.