During April’s all-campus forum, leaders highlighted recent legislation that will impact UNMC and its clinical partners.
On Monday, Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, was joined by Chris Kratochvil, MD, who highlighted the recent passage of Legislative Bill 834 to help recruit dental residents, expansion of ARPA-funded nursing scholarships and the signing of LB 1087, which provides additional federal Medicaid funding to Nebraska to be used by hospitals across the state.
Of the latter, Dr. Kratochvil, UNMC’s vice chancellor for external relations, said: “This will be a great support for our hospital partner and provide access and support to hospitals across the state.”
Dr. Kratochvil noted that the legislative session ends April 18, and UNMC Government Relations – with new director Jeff Kratz, who begins his role May 1 – will monitor any interim studies that directly impact UNMC.
More than two weeks ago, Dr. Gold was designated by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents as the priority candidate to serve as the next president of the NU System. In his first UNMC campus forum since the March 20 designation, when asked about the presidential search process, Dr. Gold said:
“I cannot tell you how honored, excited and humbled I am. Last February marked my 10th anniversary at UNMC. I am a very proud Nebraskan by choice and have come to deeply appreciate our communities and the broader state.
“To think this might be possible is a very humbling thought, but the weeks ahead are a vetting process. …There’s no predetermined outcome, just a unique opportunity to meet even more caring Nebraskans who want the very best for their university.”
The appointment is subject to a vote of the NU Board of Regents following a mandatory 30-day public vetting period.
Watch the recording of the April 8 forum.
Dr. Gold said he is excited by the process and learning more about what Nebraskans believe their university can and should do for them. Although he’s been asked “what happens at the med center” should he be voted president, his focus is only on the present, he said. “Right now, my focus is to go through the vetting period with eyes wide open.”
In serving as provost of the NU System, he said he’s worked with the academic and research programs across each NU campus, in addition to his experiences serving as chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and working with the University of Nebraska at Kearney on the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, a joint partnership.
On a federal level, Drs. Gold and Kratochvil highlighted UNMC’s success in securing funding to plan for the infectious diseases air transport facility, which builds on UNMC’s existing partnership with the U.S. Air Force, and funds for future pedestrian bike bridges across both Leavenworth Stree and Saddle Creek Road.
In other business, Dr. Gold:
- Noted that UNMC’s 2025-2028 Strategic Plan has been finalized and soon will be available online.
- Pointed out that the Breakthrough Thinking series continued this week with in-person speakers discussing generative artificial intelligence.
- Highlighted the April 1 beam-raising on the Rural Health Education Complex in Kearney, which will allow UNMC to expand the presence of its allied health and nursing programs, while launching programs to train physicians pharmacists and public health professionals in Kearney. A ribbon-cutting is anticipated late 2025 or early 2026, Dr. Gold said.
- Provided construction updates, saying that plans for a new student housing complex for the northeast corner of the Omaha campus near the Maurer Center for Public Health continue; site prep work has begun for the CORE Building on the southwest corner of Saddle Creek Road and Farnam Street; and a resolution is pending for the April 19 Board of Regents meeting on Project Health, the first phase of Project NExT.
Dr. Gold closed the session by once more expressing gratitude to the med center family for the hard work, dedication and excellence that has been achieved. He noted that his April 16 “State of the Campus Address” (during the 3 p.m. Annual Faculty Meeting) will focus on both a 10-year look back and his vision into the future. And, as always, he asked that we “show grace” when dealing with students, patients and each other.