The Special Collections and Archives Department of McGoogan Health Sciences Library has acquired the professional papers of retired faculty member Jim Medder, MD.
The Medder collection documents early UNMC faculty efforts to incorporate LGBTQ+ health care issues into the UNMC colleges’ curricula and to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community on campus. Beginning in 2010, while at UNMC, Dr. Medder and Gary Beck, PhD, pioneered the inclusion of LGBTQ+ health care issues and awareness of the LGBTQ+ community into the medical school curriculum.
In 2013, with the help of Katherine “Kitty” Dybdall, Drs. Beck and Medder also developed a certification program which was open to all UNMC health care students. That same year, Dr. Medder helped students start a Pride Alliance. The collection also includes materials connected to Dr. Medder’s involvement with the UNMC LGBTQ+ Clinic.
“Dr. Medder’s work provided the essential foundation for students, faculty and staff at UNMC to incorporate LGBTQ+ health in curriculum and other learning spaces,” said Emily Glenn, co-chair of the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine LGBTQ+ Employee Alliance and an associate professor at the library. “His leadership of the Student Pride Alliance and guidance as a founding member of the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine LGBTQ+ Employee Alliance helped people at UNMC find each other and achieve common goals. The evolving visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals and explicit inclusion of LGBTQ+ people at UNMC would not look the same today without the work of Dr. Medder and others.”
The Medder Collection includes the M4 LGBTQ+ course syllabus, a flier for the LGBT Pride Alliance, and fliers for the UNMC Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Clinic.
The McGoogan Health Sciences Library is committed to including LGBTQ+ histories and perspectives in the UNMC Special Collections and Archives. To share artifacts or stories related to LBGTQ+ history at UNMC, contact the library.
Dr. Medder , thank you for all that you and your colleagues have done in advancing our curriculum. Preserving the history of your work at UNMC is crucial to understand what it took to succeed.
Thank you, Dr. Medder!
Thanks much Jim! Your contributions on campus were immense. I miss working with you and running into you around campus. Hope that retirement is treating you well.
Jim, your compassion is boundless, and you stood up for the underserved when few people noticed or supported you.Thanks so much for your years of service.