Committees named to plan new home for North Dakota's School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Denis MacLeod

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-14-2013

Abstract

Committees named to plan new home for North Dakota's School of Medicine and Health Sciences

University of North Dakota President Robert O. Kelley got the ball rolling this week on the planning process for UND's new School of Medicine and Health Sciences building.

Kelley named the members of the committees that will play an integral role in determining the location and building of the new school. Joshua Wynne, UND vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, announced the committee members at the New Building Kickoff held at the school on June 12 for UND and SMHS students, faculty and staff.

"There are so many people that need to thanked, but I need to start with the leadership of Dr. Joshua Wynne, vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. And we could not have done this without the support of the North Dakota Legislature, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, local legislators and civic leaders, and many, many others," said Kelley.

The Site Recommendation Committee will study potential sites on the UND campus and make recommendations to President Kelley, who will select the final location. The site recommendation and selection process is expected to be completed by July 15 and will involve community input.

Site Recommendation Committee:

  • Chair, Joshua Wynne, UND vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
  • Alice Brekke, UND vice president for Finance and Operations.
  • Randy Eken, associate dean for Administration and Finance of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
  • Brad Gengler, city planner, City of Grand Forks.
  • Lonnie Laffen, president and CEO, JLG Architects.
  • Peggy Lucke, UND associate vice president for Finance and Operations.

At the New Building Kickoff, James Galloway from JLG Architects, the lead architect for the new facility, was joined by JLG's design partners Robert Novak from Perkins+Will and Bob Lavey from Steinberg Architects to discuss what to expect during the project. SMHS Dean Joshua Wynne and SMHS Associate Dean for Administration and Finance Randy Eken followed up by answering questions from students, faculty and staff.

The UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences building, which received total funding of $122.45 million to be spread over two biennia (plus a reserve of $1.55 million held by the State Board of Higher Education), will incorporate, for the first time under one roof, all of the school's educational, service, and research programs, some of which have had to be housed in separate locations on the UND campus for lack of space at the SMHS.

After a site is selected, the Building Committee will shepherd the project through to completion. The approximately 378,000-gross-square-foot facility is the critical component in the SMHS's Health Care Workforce Initiative, a four-pronged plan to help address North Dakota's health care workforce needs now and in the future by reducing disease burden, retaining more of the school's graduates for practice in North Dakota, training more practitioners, and improving the efficiency of the state's health care delivery system.

Building Committee: (Constituencies noted in parentheses)

  • Chair, Randy Eken, associate dean for Administration and Finance of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
  • Jon Allen, director of North Dakota Simulation, Teaching, and Research Center for Healthcare Education (clinical studies and simulation).
  • Joycelyn Dorscher, associate dean for Student Affairs and Admissions (students).
  • Gwen Halaas, senior associate dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (education).
  • Steven Light, associate vice president for Academic Affairs (University of North Dakota).
  • Malak Kotb, founding chair, SMHS Department of Basic Sciences (basic science and research).
  • Thomas Mohr, chair, Department of Physical Therapy (health sciences).

Building Committee Advisors:

  • Dave Molmen, chair, School of Medicine and Health Sciences Advisory Council; CEO, Altru Health System.
  • Rick Tonder, director, UND Campus Capital Projects and Planning.
  • Fawn Behrens-Smith, architect, UND Campus Capital Projects and Planning.
  • Larry Zitzow, director, UND Facilities Management.
  • Eric Plummer, UND director of Public Safety and chief of UND Police.
  • Nasser Hammami, chief information officer, SMHS.
  • UND chief information officer

Project updates, including a recording of this event, are available at med.UND.edu/construction. A Community Forum to discuss new building site options has been scheduled for Thursday, June 20, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., in the SMHS Reed Keller Lecture Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend. For those not able to attend, a video of the forum will be available at med.UND.edu/construction. Comments about the project may also be submitted through the website after the forum is held.

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Contact: Denis MacLeodassistant directorOffice of Alumni and Community RelationsUND School of Medicine and Health Sciences701.777.2733 | denis.macleod@med.UND.edu

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