UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, kicked off the Jan. 4 forum by wishing all a “happy and healthy new year,” expressing sincere gratitude for all the dedication and excellence that UNMC brings forward every day.
After congratulating the December graduates, Dr. Gold dove into a discussion of the recent uptick in respiratory illness before giving updates on campus construction, student housing, artificial intelligence and the university budget, among other topics.
Jane Meza, PhD, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and associate vice chancellor for global affairs and strategic planning, joined Dr. Gold for the hybrid forum, in which Dr. Gold congratulated Rebekah Gundry, PhD, chair of the UNMC Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, who recently received a federal COBRE grant worth $11.8 million for UNMC’s Center for Heart and Vascular Research.
The forum also touched on:
- In noting the recent uptick in respiratory illness, including RSV, COVID and influenza, Dr. Gold spoke about the highly effective vaccines now available to combat these illnesses, as well as reminding folks to stay home when sick and to stay up to date on their vaccines.
- A new student housing proposal will be submitted to the NU Board of Regents for consideration later this year after a survey of students that was conducted last year revealed a strong desire for on-campus housing.
- Dr. Meza said that after several informative Breakthrough Thinking sessions, and input from the artificial intelligence task force, a revised draft of the strategic plan will be posted in late February or early March.
- UNMC is well-positioned going into this next biennial budget cycle in the Nebraska Legislature, and while there are very few new bills that will impact UNMC, one particular bill pertaining to dental licensure will hopefully be passed to create a training licensure status.
- The search for the next University of Nebraska president continues, with reportedly dozens of nominations submitted to the Board of Regents search committee for review.
- UNMC leadership drafted an umbrella statement regarding the use of artificial intelligence in health education, health care and scientific research that now is endorsed by the university general counsel and office of the president.
- Many construction projects are underway, on time and on budget, including the IDEC facility, Innovaton Hub at Catalyst project and the UNMC-University of Nebraska at Kearney Rural Health Education Building.
Reflecting on comments made by honorary degree recipient, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Paul Friedrichs, MD, Dr. Gold said it is incumbent that UNMC, which is uniquely situated as a respected academic medical center in health education and research, helps to rebuild the public’s confidence in science.
“The spread of misinformation during the pandemic has led to a decrease in vaccination and cancer screenings, and many other things that we know save lives,” Dr. Gold said. “As a world-leader in academic medicine and research, we are challenged with rebuilding the sustained trust in medical science.”
See a recording of the January all-campus forum online here.