Earlier this week, the higher education budget (H.B. 1003) was reviewed by the Senate Appropriations Committee of the North Dakota Legislature. First up this past Monday was an overview presented by the North Dakota University System (NDUS) office, followed by President Kennedy and others on behalf of UND. Then laterRead More

I have some exciting news to report. I just learned that our first choice for MD White Coat Ceremony speaker this August has accepted our invitation. As you may recall, various health profession programs, including our medical, physical therapy and physician assistant studies students, have ceremonies where the students areRead More

I’ve been chairing a medical school accreditation survey team visit to a western school on behalf of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) this week. As I’ve discussed before, there are two good reasons for me to do this: first is the public service component—accreditation is a U.S. DepartmentRead More

Dr. Wynne is on his way to chair an accreditation survey team visit to a medical school in the western U.S. on behalf of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). His column will return next week.

This week I attended (and participated in) the winter meeting of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME); we also meet in the fall and late spring. In addition to the recurring job of determining the accreditation status of various U.S. and Canadian medical schools, we spent a full dayRead More

I have sad news to report. For those of you who haven’t heard, Janelle Eken, wife of Randy Eken, our recently retired associate dean for administration and finance, passed away last week after a courageous 11-month battle with pancreatic cancer. A terrible loss; Janelle had a way of making friendsRead More

Wow! What a week! I hope that the severe weather was no more than an inconvenience to you, and that you and your family are safe…and warm! We had a problem with the furnace at our home in the midst of the cold spell, and were reminded again of howRead More

Susan and I are looking forward to attending tomorrow night’s Recognition and Awards Banquet hosted by the UND SMHS medical student class of 2021. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. This annual event is held to celebrate hard work, promote professional relationships, andRead More

As I mentioned in last week’s column, this past Tuesday we testified in front of the North Dakota House Appropriations Committee – Education and Environment Division. Following morning testimony by the North Dakota University System (NDUS) and then President Kennedy and colleagues from UND, Dave Molmen and I testified inRead More

As I mentioned last week, the SMHS will testify before the House Appropriations Committee—Education and Environment Division at the state capitol on Tuesday afternoon. Recently retired Altru CEO Dave Molmen will join me in testifying on behalf of the UND SMHS Advisory Council that he chairs. Dave has graciously agreedRead More

Happy New Year! I trust that you had an enjoyable holiday break, although the storm last week certainly wasn’t in keeping with the holiday spirit! And there is a flu bug going around to boot. Thus, while 2019 arrived with some challenges, it also signals the arrival of new opportunities.Read More

Dean Joshua Wynne’s weekly For Your Health column will return on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.  He and his spouse, Dr. Susan Farkas, wish everyone a happy, healthy New Year.

This past Monday, my wife Dr. Susan Farkas and I had the pleasure and honor of attending a retirement celebration in honor of Dave Molmen, who is retiring at the end of December as chief executive officer (CEO) at Altru Health System after some 40 years of health care service.Read More

This week, we celebrated the holiday season with parties on the Southeast (Fargo) and the Northwest (Minot) campuses, finishing the cycle of parties at all four regional campuses that began last week. As at the parties on the Southwest (Bismarck) and Northeast (Grand Forks) campuses last week, we took timeRead More

As I mentioned in last week’s column, there was a lot going on in Bismarck this week. On Monday, the UND SMHS Advisory Council met in preparation for the upcoming North Dakota Legislative Assembly. There were three important items on the agenda, the first being a review of the FifthRead More