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From the Dean

The School held its first-ever virtual Holiday Gathering last night. Ordinarily, we coordinate December celebrations on each of our four campuses as well as a luncheon get-together that we hold on the second floor of the Grand Forks building. But because of the pandemic, we consolidated all five parties into one – made possible by […]

One of the very positive things we have going on at the School is outstanding leadership of our student leaders. Here’s one example: as required by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME, the accrediting body for U.S. medical schools that I’ve mentioned before), the students are conducting a survey of student opinions on a […]

The theme of this week’s column is “resilience and excellence under pressure.” First, consider the just-released report summarizing the School’s research funding for the first quarter (July through September) of our fiscal year. Keep in mind that our researchers finished the last academic year with the largest amount of funded research in the history of […]

This has been a quiet week, all things considered, especially since UND was closed on Wednesday in recognition of Veterans Day. On Tuesday I sent an email to all School faculty, staff and students to remind them about the holiday and to ask them to pause on that day “to recognize, remember and honor the […]

In this depressing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) era, it’s good to share some positive and potentially important recent information. A study from Iceland published in last week’s edition of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine looked at the antibody response (the protective proteins that the body makes after exposure to an infectious agent like the SARS-CoV-2 […]

We’re just short of eight months into this pandemic and all of us have to be asking: Is this ever going to end? My last “normal” day was on Friday, March 13, of all days. Talk about bad luck! Since then, Susan and I haven’t been able to visit two of our grandkids or their […]

As you are aware, the COVID-19 numbers for North Dakota (and Grand Forks County) are headed in the decidedly wrong direction. While I’d much rather have North Dakota and UND in the news because of the great things that are happening in our educational and research programs, our situation is attracting national and international attention. […]

Earlier this week, UND President Armacost and I presented the School’s budget request to the State Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The presentation went smoothly and there were no questions. We are requesting a needs-based budget in alignment with UND’s request for a 3% merit increase for faculty and staff in each year of […]

This has been a full and exciting week! It started on Monday with President Andy Armacost’s Inauguration Ceremony as the 13th UND president. The event was quite poignant and moving. Andy’s closing remarks were sensitive, thoughtful, inspiring and gracious. But even Andy and his wonderful remarks were upstaged by the loving, insightful and precious comments […]

This past Tuesday, the leadership team at the UND SMHS gave new UND President Armacost a 2.5 hour introduction to the wide variety of activities at the School. Over a dozen UND SMHS leaders gave presentations summarizing the programs and operations in each of their areas of responsibility. I gave an introductory overview and a […]

Not long ago I discussed the importance of mentoring for medical and health sciences students. We know from many surveys that mentors play a major role in helping students decide on career choices, like in what area of medicine to specialize. The importance of mentors was reinforced this past Monday when our Senior Associate Dean […]

This past Monday, the UND SMHS Advisory Council reported back to the Interim Higher Education Committee of the North Dakota Legislature, as is customary prior to each legislative assembly session and as required by law. As you might already know, the next session begins Jan. 5, 2021. I testified (virtually), along with Dave Molmen, the […]

Today is the sad anniversary of the 19th year since the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and Pentagon in Washington D.C. My, has the world changed in the nearly two decades since that tragic event! I distinctly remember where I was when I heard about the attack. My brother lived […]

Earlier this week, the building we own and operate in Minot that houses our Center for Family Medicine and our Minot-based family medicine residency suffered a major setback when a water main in the building burst unexpectedly and flooded the basement, causing substantial damage and necessitating the closure of the facility. Thanks to the dedicated […]

As UND faculty, my wife Dr. Susan Farkas and I had the opportunity to undergo COVID-19 testing before the start of classes this past Sunday during the screening event sponsored through NDSU and held in the Fargodome parking lot near our home in Fargo. We had pre-registered online and the entire process was slick, quick, […]