Articles by

joshuawynne

The UND SMHS has three fundamental missions: to educate health care providers, especially individuals destined to deliver care to the citizens of the state; to discover new scientific knowledge that benefits North Dakotans; and to serve the people of the state. Of all of the institutions of higher education in North Dakota, only our School […]

Here’s an update on the legislative front. The funding bill for all of higher education (engrossed HB 1003) has been under review by the Senate Appropriations Committee since we presented to the committee several weeks ago. This past Wednesday, a subcommittee consisting of three members of the full committee met to come up with specific […]

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 later on Monday afternoon I presented […]

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 are presented with white coats as […]

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. Department of Education requirement, and having […]

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 day at the start of the […]

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 friends with anyone and everyone. The […]

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 how vulnerable all of us are […]

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, and recognize those students who have […]

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 in the afternoon on behalf of […]

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 agreed to continue in this role […]

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. So all the best to […]