In honor of Dr. Joshua Wynne\u2019s forthcoming departure from the Dean\u2019s Office at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS), UND is sponsoring an appreciation reception.<\/p>\n
The reception honoring Wynne\u2019s many contributions to health education and healthcare across the state of North Dakota will be held at the Gorecki Alumni Center (3501 University Ave.) on the UND campus from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21.<\/p>\n
A semi-formal program for the reception will begin at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be transparent, we are thinking about eventual retirement, but we have no intention of leaving our many friends in North Dakota and Minnesota,\u201d Wynne said of he and his spouse, cardiologist Dr. Susan Farkas. \u201cI plan to step down from my two administrative posts, but I am not retiring \u2013 I plan to continue teaching as a faculty member and seeing patients in my cardiology practice. Susan and I love it here in North Dakota and have no plans to leave, at least in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n
A cardiologist by training, Wynne arrived in North Dakota in 2004 to serve as the SMHS Executive Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. He assumed the role of Interim Vice President for Health Affairs (VPHA) and Interim Dean of the medical and health sciences school at the direction of then-UND President Robert Kelley in 2009. Following a national search, Kelley named Wynne to succeed H. David Wilson as SMHS Dean and serve as UND\u2019s VPHA in 2010.<\/p>\n
Under Wynne\u2019s leadership, the School saw the expansion of class sizes across the health professions, increases in philanthropic giving to the School, and the significant reduction in overall student debt, particularly for medical students. Wynne also worked closely with UND, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, and health providers across North Dakota on the construction of a new 325,000 square foot School of Medicine & Health Sciences building, which opened in Grand Forks in 2016.<\/p>\n
Each of these accomplishments were in part a result of North Dakota\u2019s groundbreaking Healthcare Workforce Initiative (HWI), which Wynne helped implement across the state starting in 2011. In the decade-plus since it was developed, the HWI has helped North Dakota retain more locally-trained physicians and other healthcare providers for practice in-state. In 2023, for example, North Dakota\u2019s only medical school ranked in the 75th<\/sup> percentile among medical schools nationally for retaining its medical doctorate (M.D.) graduates to practice in-state following their medical residency. This figure represents a significant growth for a school that in 2014 ranked in the lower-middle third of schools (39th<\/sup> percentile) in this same metric.<\/p>\n Wynne received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, completing residencies in internal medicine and cardiology at Boston\u2019s Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital (formerly Peter Bent Brigham Hospital).<\/p>\n As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19) emerged in the U.S. in early 2020, Wynne helped UND, Grand Forks, and the entire state manage its worst pandemic in more than a century. While serving as UND\u2019s Interim President at the time and helping Andrew Armacost ease into the role of UND President, Wynne was tapped by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to act as the state\u2019s Chief Health Strategist. In this capacity he helped lead the North Dakota University System\u2019s Smart Restart Task Force on campus re-entry in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh Wynne has been a legendary leader at UND and for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, guiding the development of thousands of doctors, health professionals, and scientists for nearly 15 years as Vice President and Dean,\u201d said Armacost. \u201cHis impact has been felt by his colleagues and his students in immeasurable ways. We honor him at this special event alongside so many from the SMHS and local communities to shower him with much admiration, gratitude, and love.\u201d<\/p>\n Among other dignitaries, speaking at the reception will be President Armacost and former State Board of Higher Education Chair Dr. Casey Ryan.<\/p>\n The reception is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In honor of Dr. Joshua Wynne\u2019s forthcoming departure from the Dean\u2019s Office at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS), UND is sponsoring an appreciation reception. The reception honoring Wynne\u2019s many contributions to health education and healthcare across the state of North Dakota will be held at the Gorecki Alumni […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":11994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3143,1104,51,500,53],"class_list":["post-12582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-appreciation","tag-armacost","tag-dean","tag-reception","tag-wynne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n