It was a reunion 10 years in the making.
With more than 200 UNMC alumni in Shanghai, China, alone, and Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., making his first trip to China as chancellor of UNMC earlier this year, it was a night to remember.
To see a slideshow of images from the trip, click here.
“All of you who are alumni of UNMC know that distance doesn’t mean very much in health care, that you form a family, friends and relationships that endure for a lifetime,” Dr. Gold told the crowd of more than 70 alumni at a dinner in the heart of Shanghai.
“These types of long standing relationships don’t go away and the more than a decade of intense relationships that UNMC has built with China are sustaining, they are beyond any individual or any part of the organization, but they are self-sustaining because of their excellence,” Dr. Gold said.
Joining the chancellor at the dinner were:
- Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance;
- Dele Davies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs;
- Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and president of Nebraska Medicine;
- Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing;
- Deb Thomas, associate vice chancellor for business and finance;
- Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., dean of allied health professionals;
- Kai Fu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology; and
- Jialin Zheng, M.D., director of Asia Pacific Rim Development
UNMC’s distinguished guests from China included:
- Chenghua Jiang, M.D., secretary of the Party Committee, Medical School of Tongji University;
- Qiaoling Cai, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, Medical School of Tongji;
- Hongmei Tang, M.D., president of Shanghai Institute of Health Sciences;
- Xiaoning Zou, director of International Cooperation and Exchange Department, Shanghai Medicine and Health Development Foundation.
After Dr. Gold told the group of alumni they “should all be very proud of UNMC,” a traditional Chinese dinner was served, followed by toasts to the next 10 years of this valued relationship and collaboration.
“It’s wonderful to see how many alumni we have in China,” Dr. Davies said. “They are delighted with the collaboration with UNMC, and it’s very energizing to be able to connect with them.”
After a couple rounds of karaoke, it was time to end the dinner — but the relationship, built steadily and consistently over the past 10 years, is still going strong.
“We teach the next generation and we do science that really changes the world, and we all do it together,” Dr. Gold said.
Together, this partnership will only grow stronger.