Articles by

joshuawynne

This has been an exciting week as the School welcomed 77 entering medical students from the Class of 2023 to campus. My wife Dr. Susan Farkas and I hosted a reception for them this past Wednesday evening at the North Dakota Museum of Art, and it was fun for us to visit with them. Many […]

It is with sadness that we note the passing of Dr. Richard Olafson, a neurosurgeon and former dean of the SMHS Southeast (Fargo) campus. I got to know Dick well over the years after he retired, and I always found him to be a gentle, kind, and thoughtful man. He died on July 27 at […]

Earlier this week the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences welcomed three representatives from the American Medical Association (AMA) who are part of the AMA’s initiative on Accelerating Change in Medical Education (ACE). ACE is a multi-million dollar program wherein the AMA provides competitive grants to selected schools that submitted proposals for funding. Currently, […]

Last Friday night, Susan and I had the pleasure of attending the 35th General Surgery Residency Program Graduation banquet hosted by Department of Surgery Professor and Chair Dr. Robert Sticca. The event recognized all UND surgical residents, but especially the five residents graduating from the program. The ballroom where the event was held was packed […]

This week was my first as interim President of UND. As you may know, I am continuing as vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS). It was an especially busy week because I also attended the summer meeting of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education […]

This coming Sunday, June 16, will be my first day as interim President of UND, a role I accepted in addition to my continuing roles as vice president for Health Affairs and dean of your School of Medicine & Health Sciences. As you might imagine, I’ve already been in touch with various people representing a […]

It has been quite a gratifying week since the State Board of Higher Education met last Thursday and confirmed me as interim president of UND, starting June 16, 2019. Since the announcement, I’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the many congratulatory and supportive messages I’ve received from both within and outside of the UND community. […]

You may have heard the news that I’ve been selected as interim president of UND following Mark Kennedy, who is leaving for the presidency of the University of Colorado System, effective June 15, 2019. I wasn’t seeking this position and agreed to accept the nomination only after fielding dozens of encouraging and supportive calls from […]

Congratulations to our colleagues in UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences for capturing the 2019 National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Championship this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. This was the 17th time UND won this competition, starting around 1970 when John Odegard himself took the first UND flying team […]

Graduation weekend last week was a blast! I, along with fellow faculty, staff, and students, had a full dance card of activities Friday through Sunday as UND graduated over 1,900 students, including over 300 from the SMHS. There were department-specific activities like hooding ceremonies for graduating physician assistant and physical therapy students, an open house […]

Graduation weekend is here! Over the next two days, we will graduate over 300 medical and health sciences students who are destined for additional training, clinical practice, or other health-related employment. We are proud of them! They are going forward with wonderful opportunities, thanks to the education and training they received here at UND and […]

True to the predictions that were circulating in Bismarck last week, the North Dakota Legislature indeed did adjourn last Friday night on the 76th day of this year’s session (out of a possible 80 days). That leaves four days “in the bank” if it were necessary to reconvene the Legislative Assembly for some reason, albeit […]

A big “Thank You!” to all who participated in the first UND Gives philanthropic event this past Wednesday. UND Gives, to be repeated annually, is a 24-hour online fundraising challenge that aims to rally philanthropic support for UND initiatives. Thanks to the generosity of more than 600 of UND’s alumni, friends, and supporters, the UND […]

Given that the North Dakota Legislature is expected to wrap up its session in the next 10 days or so, we will soon know the specifics of our appropriated budget provided by state funding. We don’t expect any surprises, but still need further clarity on certain issues like the merit increase pool. I’m very pleased […]

The presentation by Julie A. Blehm, MD, FACP, associate professor of Internal Medicine (retired) and Robert Olson, MD, clinical professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Dean’s Hour last week was indeed the special event that we anticipated. Drs. Blehm and Olson interacted with a standing-room-only audience and addressed the issue of provider depression and […]