The year 2024 reflected a change at the very top of UNMC’s leadership. But UNMC’s progress continued just the same.
New UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, said that is according to plan. During his first campus forum as interim chancellor – stepping in for Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, after he became University of Nebraska president – Dr. Davies said he asked Dr. Gold about continuing the momentum when presented the leadership opportunity.
Dr. Davies recalled: “The first question I asked him was, ‘Am I going to carry on the momentum we’ve had here, or am I going to be a placeholder?’ It was very clear that we’re going to continue the momentum, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
As much as UNMC’s change in leadership highlighted 2024, the work at UNMC in health care education, patient care and research continued its trajectory, growing in many ways and even physically expanding.
Here is a look back at UNMC’s year that was.
Leadership shift
Ten years into his tenure as UNMC chancellor, Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, was named NU president in April.
As President Gold took office July 1, he named H. Dele Davies, MD, to be UNMC’s interim chancellor, following Dr. Davies’ tenure as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at UNMC.
Dr. Davies then named an interim leadership team in the UNMC Office of Academic Affairs and in Graduate Studies, with new roles for Jane Meza, PhD, Kendra Schmid, PhD, and Karen Gould, PhD.
Project Health
With the approval from the NU Board of Regents, UNMC continued moving forward on Project Health – the proposed $2.19 billion health care facility at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine that would become the med center’s clinical learning center.
On April 19, the regents approved an amendment to an interlocal agreement with the City of Omaha to help fund the design and construction of the project and also authorized planning phase funding for Project Health, the first phase of Project NExT.
Then on Aug. 9, the regents approved Project Health’s program statement, which launched the project into its design phase.
UNMC’s hospital partner, Nebraska Medicine, also unveiled the Innovation Design Unit, the first phase of Project Health, in December.
Enrollment steadily climbs
For the 24th straight year, enrollment at UNMC increased. The fall enrollment figure was 4,703 students, a 3.2% annual rise. The increase was driven by enrollment increases in graduate studies, pharmacy, allied health professions and nursing.
Research grows impact
UNMC research continues to grow, with total research expenditures increasing by 8% to $217.7 million in fiscal year 2024, the largest total in UNMC’s history.
Rural outreach
UNMC continued strengthening its rural outreach efforts.
Construction progressed on the second facility of the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.
Inaugural associate deans for the regional medical and pharmacy schools in Kearney were named: Robert Messbarger, MD, for the UNMC College of Medicine and Linda Sobeski, PharmD, for the UNMC College of Pharmacy.
In March, UNMC and Regional West Health Services of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, signed a master affiliation agreement to expand clinical rotation opportunities in the region.
Then in October, UNMC signed memorandums of understanding that will provide eligible students from Western Nebraska Community College and Scottsbluff High School’s Health Sciences Career Academy with guaranteed admission to the UNMC College of Nursing-West Nebraska Division.
Construction and development
UNMC also continued to grow its Omaha campus.
The Catalyst facility, an innovation hub for researchers and entrepreneurs, moved closer to its early 2025 opening.
Construction continued on the CORE (Campus Operations and Research Excellence) Building, which will support computer-based research and wet lab-based research for drug discovery, oncology and other strategic areas.
In October, UNMC revealed EDGE District as the name for UNMC’s development west of Saddle Creek Road, with Catalyst and the CORE Building set as the first new facilities.
Construction also began on the $66 million, 200,000-plus-square-foot residence hall that will accommodate approximately 300 UNMC students on the east edge of the Omaha campus.
The med center also opened the Nebraska Medicine UNMC Student Health Clinic in its new, fully renovated and dedicated space on Feb. 19.
Dean Olsen retiring
Keith Olsen, PharmD, Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean of the UNMC College of Pharmacy, announced in November that he would step aside as dean Jan. 1, 2025, and phase into retirement in January 2026. Don Klepser, PharmD, was named interim dean.
Other leadership announcements
- David Warren, MD, will join UNMC as the new infectious diseases chief.
- Andrew Patterson, MD, PhD, was named the new anesthesiology chair.
- John Lowe, PhD, was named the inaugural Anne M. Hubbard Chair and department chair of the UNMC Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health.
- Debra Romberger, MD, announced she was stepping away as internal medicine chair. A search committee is working to identify the next chair for the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine.
- Search committees also are working to find the next chairs for the UNMC Department of Dermatology, UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and UNMC Department of Radiology.
Remembered for their impact
Along with the loss of other dedicated faculty and staff, UNMC lost several pillars of the med center with the deaths of Ken Cowan, MD, PhD, Howard Hawks, Bill Scott, and Michael Sorrell, MD.
Husker partnership
In August, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine were announced as the official health care partners of Husker Athletics.
Fight song
Following the roaring success of UNMC’s new Labs mascot, the UNMC Student Senate announced an official campus fight song for UNMC.