University of Nebraska Medical Center

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University of Nebraska
Medical Center
TypePublic academic health science center
Established1869 (charted in 1881)
Parent institution
University of Nebraska System
AffiliationNebraska Medicine
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
Endowment$1.066 billion budget, 2025-26, 16.8% state supported[1]
ChancellorH. Dele Davies (interim)
PresidentJeffrey P. Gold
Vice-ChancellorJane Meza (interim)
Administrative staff
6,498; 5,589 FTE(2025)
Students4,818 (2025)
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
,
United States
ColorsRed and white[2]
   
MascotLabs[3]
Websitewww.unmc.edu
Map

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902.[4] Rapidly expanding in the early 20th century, the university founded a hospital, dental college, pharmacy college, college of nursing, and college of medicine. It later added colleges of public health and allied health professions. One of Omaha's top employers,[5] UNMC had an annual budget of $1.066 billion for 2025 to 2026 and an economic impact of $5.9 billion.[6]

History

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The original Omaha Medical College building at 12th & Pacific in 1900

The University of Nebraska Medical Center was formed in 1869 as the Omaha Medical College. The college was organized as a training school by several Nebraskan physicians and was originally private.[4] The college was officially chartered in 1881.[7] Omaha Medical College officially joined the University of Nebraska in 1902.[8] Under the University of Nebraska, the college grew, adding a dental college in 1903, a pharmacy college in 1908, and a nursing college in 1917. That same year, the college formed a hospital on campus, which later opened in 1919.[9]

In 1968, medicine, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy operations were all consolidated by the system to form the University of Nebraska Medical Center. That same year, the university separated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and officially joined the University of Nebraska system[10] In 1997, the university hospital merged with Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital, then-affiliate of Clarkson College. The resulting entity was the Nebraska Health System, now known as Nebraska Medicine, to which the university is affiliated with.[11] The following year, the university and hospital opened the 14-story Lied Transplant Center, which at 230 feet (70 m) tall, is the twelfth tallest building in Omaha.[12]

Ebola epidemic response

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During the 2014 Ebola epidemic, the federal government tapped Nebraska as one of three units prepared to accept highly infectious patients in the United States. Today, UNMC/Nebraska Medicine has the largest operational biocontainment unit in the nation.[13]

UNMC's academic, local, state, and federal partnerships have expanded with the initiation of the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC).[14][15] the Special Pathogens Research Network (SPRN)[16] and the National Training, Simulation & Quarantine Center.[17] These organizations and additional alliances are housed under the Global Center for Health Security.[18]

In 2016, UNMC was awarded a $19.8 million grant from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.[17] The four-year federal grant — which has renewable options for an additional 21 years — enables UNMC to teach federal health care personnel procedures in treating highly infectious diseases.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center created the Global Center for Health Security in 2017. The goal of the creation of the center is to transform and centralize "infectious disease response and biodefense research." Among the reasons behind the move were concerns about outbreaks of viruses, infectious diseases, and an environment where a biological terrorist attack is a possibility.[19]

In 2016, a UNMC team of researchers was awarded a five-year research grant from the National Institutes of Health totaling nearly $20 million, through the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program and the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Studies.[20] The grant will focus on developing early career researchers into independent scientists and increasing the infrastructure and other resources needed to support clinical/translational research (CTR) around the region. The grant will create the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network, a collaboration involving nine institutions in four states: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas[21]

SARS-CoV-2 epidemic response

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In 2020, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine were enlisted to support a federal operation that evacuated 57 Americans from Wuhan, China, during an epidemic of novel coronavirus, SARS CoV-2. The group was placed in quarantine at Camp Ashland, a Nebraska National Guard facility near Omaha.[22] Thirteen Americans were repatriated to University of Nebraska Medical Center on February 17, from the Diamond Princess off the coast of Japan. Ten had tested positive, and three others had been exposed.[23] Three days later, eleven of these people tested positive. UNMC scientists, working with evidence gathered in the National Quarantine Center, in the new $119 million Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center on UNMC's Omaha campus, found the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads through airborne transmission.[24][25]

UNMC led the first clinical trial in the U.S. on the use of remdesivir to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19.[26] UNMC developed a series of guides to help meatpacking facilities, child development centers, court systems, K-12 education and higher education minimize the risk of COVID-19 and reduce disruptions to business operations.[27] UNMC scientists developed a safe and effective method to decontaminate N95 respirators using ultraviolet light.[23] The process, shared with hospital systems across the U.S., allowed multiple reuse of N95s when personal protective equipment was in short supply.[28]

2020–present

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In August 2024, in partnership with Nebraska Medicine, Project Health was announced. The facility will be 400 feet (120 m) tall and will be used by both UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.[29] In November 2025, the University of Nebraska system approved a joint-accreditation between the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Once complete, the University of Nebraska Medical Center will become an in-name-only campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.[30]

Academics and rankings

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Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023[31]
Race and ethnicity Total
White 77%
 
Hispanic 12%
 
Asian 3%
 
Two or more races 3%
 
Black 2%
 
International student 1%
 
Economic diversity
Low-income[a] 23%
 
Affluent[b] 77%
 

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is a public academic health science center, and is a part of the University of Nebraska system. In 2024, UNMC's bachelor's in nursing program was ranked 19th of 656 nursing programs by U.S. News & World Report.[32] UNMC was also ranked as a Tier 1 institution for primary care training.[33]

Other programs that also received a national ranking include graduates practicing in rural health care (9th of 168); research (Tier 2); the College of Pharmacy (19th of 141); the College of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice program (59th of 389); the College of Public Health (46th of 213), and the College of Allied Health Professions' physical therapy program (33 of 245) and physician assistant program (16 of 211). UNMC was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 academic years by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.[34]

Colleges and degree-granting institutes

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The University of Nebraska Medical Center includes several colleges and degree-granting institutes. These include the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing Pharmacy, Public Health, Allied Health Professions, the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research and Allied Diseases and the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Developmental Disabilities. A majority of these colleges are located on UNMC's Midtown campus.[35] The College of Dentistry is located on the east campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. Additionally, the College of Nursing also has locations on UNL's campus. The college also offers nursing and additional health programs at the University of Nebraska at Kearney in Kearney, Nebraska.[36]

Campus

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See also: Nebraska Medicine facilities
Buffett Cancer Center and Duham Research Center I in 2019

The University of Nebraska Medical Center's primary campus is located in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The campus is shared with Nebraska Medicine, and has been since it was spun-off into a separate entity in 1997.[11] Major buildings on campus include the Lied Transplant Center, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Clarkson Tower, Dunham Research Towers I & II, and the under-construction Project Health Tower.[37]

Notable alumni

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.
  2. ^ The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.

References

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  1. ^ "Fast Facts | University of Nebraska Medical Center". Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "UNMC Brand Wise | Color Palette".
  3. ^ "University of Nebraska Medical Center unveils new mascot". WOWT. April 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Praeger (2010). American Universities and Colleges (19th ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 769. ISBN 978-0-313-36608-6.
  5. ^ "Largest Employers in Omaha". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  6. ^ "Fast Facts". University of Nebraska Medical Center. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Omaha Medical College". The Omaha Evening Bee. October 11, 1881. p. 4. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  8. ^ "Omaha Medical College Becomes Connected With State University". Omaha Daily Bee. April 10, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  9. ^ "University Medical College and Hospital at Omaha Vitally Important to People of State". The Lincoln Star. August 3, 1919. p. 22. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  10. ^ "History". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Two hospitals in Omaha join forces". Lincoln Journal Star. October 2, 1997. p. 10. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "New High-Rise for Health". Omaha World-Herald. November 21, 1998. p. 66. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  13. ^ "UNMC's Global Center for Health Security". Nebraska Radio Network. June 7, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  14. ^ "Ebola Virus Declared a Global Health Emergency | Everyday Health".
  15. ^ "Home".
  16. ^ "Research Network".
  17. ^ a b Morton, Joseph. "UNMC awarded $19.8 million to develop national training center for fighting Ebola, other infectious diseases". Omaha World-Herald.
  18. ^ Julie Anderson. "UNMC, Nebraska Medicine team training Ugandan health-care workers screening for Ebola". Omaha.com.
  19. ^ Galford, Chris (June 19, 2017). "University of Nebraska reorganizes public health efforts to face future disease threats under central umbrella". Homeland Preparedness News. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  20. ^ "$20 million research grant is largest ever for UNMC | UNMC". October 24, 2016.
  21. ^ "GP IDeA-CTR – the Great Plains IDeA-CTR is a collaborative effort between nine regional institutions. The IDeA-CTR strives to provide training, education and mentorship; tools and resources; and funding to regional researchers".
  22. ^ KETV Staff Report (February 6, 2020). "Officials speak on bringing rescued Americans to Nebraska for quarantine amid coronavirus spread". KETV.
  23. ^ a b Anderson, Julie; Ruggles, Rick (February 17, 2020). "13 people, some of whom have tested positive for coronavirus, quarantined at Nebraska Med Center". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  24. ^ Jaimie Etkin (July 22, 2020). "There's now proof these two things you do constantly spread covid". MSN.
  25. ^ Santarpia, Joshua L.; Rivera, Danielle N.; Herrera, Vicki L.; Morwitzer, M. Jane; Creager, Hannah M.; Santarpia, George W.; Crown, Kevin K.; Brett-Major, David M.; Schnaubelt, Elizabeth R.; Broadhurst, M. Jana; Lawler, James V. (July 29, 2020). "Aerosol and surface contamination of SARS-CoV-2 observed in quarantine and isolation care". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 12732. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1012732S. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69286-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7391640. PMID 32728118.
  26. ^ NIH staff Report (February 25, 2020). "NIH clinical trial of remdesivir to treat COVID-19 begins". NIH.
  27. ^ Duffy, Erin (April 30, 2020). "UNMC experts write playbook to help meatpackers prevent spread of coronavirus". omaha.com.
  28. ^ Berg, Sara (April 2, 2020). "COVID-19: Tackling the N95 shortage with novel decontamination". AMA.
  29. ^ Parsons, McKenzy (August 9, 2024). "'Project health': Board of Regents approve $2.1 billion UNMC and Nebraska Medicine facility". KETV. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  30. ^ reports, First Alert 6 staff (November 21, 2025). "Nebraska Board of Regents approve joint accreditation for UNMC, UNL". WOWT. Retrieved November 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ "College Scorecard: University of Nebraska Medical Center". College Scorecard. United States Department of Education. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  32. ^ "Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Programs". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023.
  33. ^ "University of Nebraska Medical Center - Best Medical Schools". US News. 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  34. ^ The Chronicle List (February 9, 2020). "Top Producers of Fulbright U.S. Scholars and Students, 2019-20". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  35. ^ "Colleges & Institutes". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  36. ^ "Kearney Expansion". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  37. ^ "UNMC Campus Map | University of Nebraska Medical Center". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
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41°15′21.71″N 95°58′32.81″W / 41.2560306°N 95.9757806°W / 41.2560306; -95.9757806