The priority candidate for the University of Nebraska Medical Center chancellor position, Dr. H. Dele Davies, met with UNMC students, faculty, staff, and the media in Kearney on Wednesday.
Amongst the issues he discussed, Davies spoke at length about healthcare workforce shortages and filling those positions in greater Nebraska, the budget, and the new UNMC campus in Kearney.
“We view ourselves as a 500-mile wide campus,” Davies said. “One of our major goals is that we are a major healthcare workforce provider for the state of Nebraska, and we take that very seriously. It’s not just about urban areas, we actually work very closely with communities across the state to do our best to make sure that we get as many students in greater Nebraska as possible to become healthcare professionals.”
Originally joining UNMC’s administration in 2012 from fellow Big Ten member school Michigan State, Davies was named interim chancellor in 2024 when Dr. Jeffrey Gold was named the University of Nebraska system president. In early May, Davies was named the priority candidate for the chancellor.
Davies also held a position at the University of Calgary from 1998-2002 before coming stateside. His undergraduate degree is from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, and earned his MD from the University of Toronto. He also holds a master’s degree in health care management from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Davies had a glowing review of the new Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, which has been the main point for expansion on UNK’s campus.
“I’ve never seen one project that we’ve done that has generated as much goodwill as having this building here, and that’s a fact.” Davies said. “Everywhere I go, people just really talk about how important it is to have a building like this right here in the middle of the country, training medical students here, further west than we’ve ever done in the history of this great state.”
Davies also addressed budget cuts that have taken place within the University of Nebraska system in recent years.
“We are managing the resources we have as best as we can, and if you were to talk to our staff, everybody’s doing a lot more than they’ve ever had to do,” Davies said. “We did not give a pay raise last year, and that does contribute to, obviously, tension and stress, and the difference in the desirability of those jobs. We really believe [if we are] going to remain world class, we need to really pay the people that are working for us well. That’s where the challenges is, we don’t want to be in a situation where we’re losing good people because of the fact that we’re not able to give them a pay raise.”
Davies will have forums in Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk, and Scottsbluff though this week and next.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents could approve Davies as their next chancellor as soon as their next regularly scheduled meeting on June 18.
