With 10 years of experience leading UNMC, Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, took a journey Tuesday during his annual state-of-the-campus address to mark UNMC and the med center’s exceptional decade of growth.
Dr. Gold led off his presentation to the UNMC Faculty Senate and a UNMC audience by emphasizing that UNMC’s mission – to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthier future for individuals and communities – drives “everything that we do.”
UNMC’s values are alive and well, Dr. Gold said, throughout its classrooms, research labs, clinical facilities and the entire med center. And it is achieving the overall goal of continuous growth across its educational programs, its research and discovery, through extraordinary patient care and strong community engagement: “We have grown both in scope and in excellence,” he said.
Yet in his 10-year look back, Dr. Gold said the accomplishments reflect not what he has done, but rather, “everything that I’m going to share with you today is what you have done.”
In turn, he thanked “all of you.”
“This is about how every single member of our faculty and staff, our students, our community members, our philanthropists,” he said, “have joined arms to make the med center what it is today and hopefully what it will continue to be for a very long time into the future.”
He added, “There is clearly no better team than here at the med center, and I think you’ll agree with me that the outcomes certainly support that.”
Among the many highlights Dr. Gold offered:
- Growth in student enrollment of 27% over the past decade, to a total of 4,555 for fall 2023.
- Expansion in graduate medical education since 2013, from 55 to 94 programs and 505 to 715 residents and fellows.
- Outstanding growth in research in that decade, from $89 million in research grants and contracts in 2013 to $250 million in June 2023.
- Raised $876 million in private philanthropy, with more than 77,000 gifts from over 44,500 individual donors to support UNMC programs and projects.
- Expansion at UNMC’s primary clinical partner Nebraska Medicine, with patient care growing significantly, establishment of a sustainable governance structure and the rebranding the med center around the values of “serious medicine, extraordinary care.”
- The med center’s care of Ebola patients, which led to the establishment of the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center and the national Training, Simulation, and Quarantine Center, both at UNMC.
- Dramatic growth of the med center’s healing arts programs, including the Chihuly Sanctuary, Nebraska Medical Orchestra and many more campuswide programs.
Dr. Gold also marked a decade of expansion in UNMC and med center facilities, including the:
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
- Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center and launch of the iEXCEL simulation program in health science education.
- Munroe-Meyer Institute’s expansion and relocation.
- UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education.
- Facility for the College of Nursing-Lincoln Division.
- Health Science Education Complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
- Wigton Heritage Center.
- McGoogan Health Sciences Library renovation.
In line with the continuous growth that has marked the past decade, Dr. Gold then looked ahead to the growth on UNMC’s horizon: Seeing through construction of the second building of the UNMC-University of Nebraska at Kearney Health Science Education Complex, which will increase UNMC’s enrollment capacity beyond 5,100 students; construction of the Infectious Diseases Air Transport national training facility; establishment of UNMC’s Saddle Creek Campus with the CORE building for administrative offices and research space and the Innovation Hub at the Catalyst; and continued progress toward the realization of Project Health.
Dr. Gold also firmly aligned UNMC with the University of Nebraska Board of Regent’s goal of returning the university to membership in the Association of American Universities. He shared the multi-tiered criteria for consideration of AAU membership and the importance of focus on all of these areas.
In his conclusion, Dr. Gold offered his appreciation to the leaders throughout the med center. He recalled one of his own thoughts from more than a decade ago distilling the essence of great leadership: “The essence of great leadership is the critical combination of knowledge and skill that continually inspires others to great things.”
“As each of you in this room have various leadership roles, it is never about yourself,” Dr. Gold said. “It is always about the ability to bring out the best in others and not to do average things, but to do truly great things.”
He said, “The med center is an amazing place, and each of you have contributed to make it better and better. The best is truly yet to come.”
This is all very impressive and is the result of great leadership and a team that has been committed to the goals and mission of UNMC/NMedicine. It’s the way of people of Nebraska! More to come I’m sure, keep up the great work.
Jon Abegglen