UNMC for the record, July 22, 2022

Howard Liu, MD, named chair of Council on Communications with APA

In May 2022, Howard Liu, MD, was appointed as the new chair of the Council on Communications at the American Psychiatric Association.   

Dr. Liu said the chair leads strategic meetings of the members and staff who are assisting the APA with items related to messaging, providing expert statements to the media, launching social media awareness campaigns, reviewing communication briefs and press releases and amplifying the voice of organized psychiatry in the international mental health dialogue.  

"I was thrilled to serve on the committee the past three years leading the social media subcommittee, so I saw the importance of the council in helping members communicate effectively with the public for advocacy and awareness," Dr. Liu said. "I’m particularly interested in the professional application of social media to mental health, and there are so many key dialogues where the voices of psychiatrists could be helpful to counteract stigma and misinformation." 

Dr. Liu, the UNMC Department of Psychiatry chair since 2019, will serve as the chair of the Council on Communications for a year.

Upcoming corridor closure in University Tower

Work to expand and remodel the existing Core Lab in University Tower will result in temporary closure of a corridor on level three.

Beginning Tuesday, July 26, the primary north-south corridor on level three in University Tower will be closed for an estimated four weeks. The closure is required for installation a new ceiling system, corridor finishes and HVAC main lines that will serve the future blood bank space which is scheduled to be complete this fall. 

Aside from restricting through traffic from adjacent buildings, this temporary corridor closure will impact certain routes to the blood bank and laboratory specimen receiving window. 

During the closure, all blood bank traffic will need to approach from the west and all specimen drop-off traffic will need to approach from the south, as shown in the level three floor plan below. Closure and detour signage will be installed in the early morning hours of July 26.