A father and son have committed $500,000 to the University of Nebraska
Foundation to establish a teaching excellence award at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine. It was made by two UNMC alums,
Jerome Hirschmann, class of 1941, and his son, Richard, class of 1973.
Both live in the Chicago area. Jerome is now retired, while Richard is
an anesthesiologist for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.
The Hirschmann Prize for Teaching Excellence annually will recognize
two College of Medicine faculty for devotion to teaching and innovative
teaching methods. The recipients will be chosen each year by senior medical
students and will provide opportunities for faculty to strengthen their
teaching skills. Faculty can choose professional development attend conferences,
initiate a research project or purchase equipment or materials.
The fund, currently at $100,000, will provide a maximum prize of $2,500
for each recipient the first year and will increase to a maximum of $12,500
when the fund reaches $500,000.
The Hirschmanns view their gift as an opportunity to recognize outstanding
educators and to show appreciation for their alma mater.
My father and I wanted to invest in the people who really make the
College of Medicine great and who raise the quality of teaching there,
said Richard Hirschmann, M.D. Its an attempt to recognize and reward
those whose teaching affects students and impresses on them to care deeply
about patients and their quality of life. We also feel a tremendous debt
of gratitude for the university and want to acknowledge it and pay back
in some small way what it means to us.
James Armitage, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine, expressed appreciation
for the gift.
The College of Medicine is honored to receive the Hirschmann family
gift. Were glad to know they continue to value their time and education
here, Dr. Armitage said.
Over the years, the Hirschmann Prize for Teaching Excellence will enable
the college and its students to recognize many outstanding educators who
we are privileged to have teaching here.
Jerome and his wife, Doris, maintain homes in Winnetka, Ill., and Palm
Beach, Fla. After graduating from UNMC, Jerome Hirschmann served as a medical
officer during World War II. He trained to be a cardiologist following
the war and worked in Chicago hospitals until 1983, including time at Michael
Reese Hospital and 30 years at Weiss Memorial Hospital.
Richard Hirschmann completed a medical internship at Wesley Hospital
in Chicago, a residency at the University of California at Los Angeles
in anesthesiology and then a fellowship at Chicagos Rush-Presbyterian-St.
Lukes Medical Center in cardiac anesthesiology. In 1978, he started at
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare where he is a pediatric anesthesiologist.
Three generations of Hirschmanns have ties to UNMC as Herman Hirschmann,
Jeromes father and Richards grandfather, was a physician in Omaha from
1905 to 1953 and a voluntary faculty member at the Omaha Medical College,
which later became UNMC.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a non-profit corporation supplementing
support for students, faculty, facilities and programs at the University
of Nebraskas four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations
and other foundations.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, nearly $31 million in research grants and contracts
were awarded to UNMC scientists, and UNMCs funding from the National Institutes
of Health increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million.
UNMCs educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.