Nebraska State Sen. Megan Hunt visited UNMC on Sept. 12, meeting with Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, and other university leaders, as well as public health faculty, before touring the iEXCEL program at the Davis Global Center.
Sen. Hunt, who represents legislative District 8 in midtown Omaha, met with Jesse Bell, PhD, Meghan Langel and Rachel Lookadoo of the UNMC College of Public Health as part of the visit to discuss water health issues.
“We met to discuss what UNMC and the University of Nebraska are doing around the issue of public health around our soil and water, as well as the leading research that’s being done here on that issue,” she said. “We know that’s going to become more important over the next 30 years as we talk about agricultural sustainability and public health in our communities – the important role water quality is going to play in that.”
Sen. Hunt said she appreciates the work being done at UNMC.
“There are a lot of advocates in the legislature for the research that is being done here,” she said. “I’m eager to see what the legislature can do to support that research. We know that when we invest in research and data, we have good information to drive policy that results in better outcomes for the people we serve. There’s an obvious partnership that needs to happen between the Legislature and the UNMC community, which is working on the same goals as we are to make this a better place.”