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From the Dean

This past Wednesday, Susan and I attended a fun event—the second annual Longest Table get-together held on University Avenue in Grand Forks. It was an opportunity for those in the greater Grand Forks community to come together for talk, music, and supper. It was quite a sight—there were 127 tables lined up in a row […]

This week’s “From the Dean” column is brought to you by Patrick Carr, Ph.D., the School’s assistant dean for medical curriculum, who will discuss facilitating leadership in medical students and unmasking the “hidden curriculum.” As another academic year begins, our thoughts are focused on helping our incoming students on their road to mastering the skills, […]

As part of my new duties as UND’s interim president, I had the pleasure and honor of hosting the annual UND Bus Tour of North Dakota earlier this week. Along with about 30 new faculty and administrators, we traveled across the northern portion of North Dakota. Each year since 1990, UND’s newcomers have boarded a […]

Next week, I will be “On the Road Again” in my new role as interim president of UND. Along with about 30 new faculty and administrators, we will board a UND bus and travel across the northern portion of North Dakota. Each year since 1990, UND’s newcomers board the bus on Monday to see the […]

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 […]

This past Wednesday evening, I attended a reception hosted by the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the annual week-long gathering of aviation enthusiasts at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) annual meeting called AirVenture but known colloquially by the Wisconsin town where it is held—Oshkosh. Some 600,000 AirVenture attendees go to educational […]

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, […]

The “From the Dean” column is brought to you this week by Laura Block, the School’s associate dean for Administration & Finance and chief operating officer, who will discuss the move into the new academic year (fiscal year 2020) and UND’s new budget model called MIRA. Happy summer, everyone! Here’s hoping you are enjoying the […]

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 […]