Dr. H. Dele Davies was named the priority candidate for chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has served as interim chancellor for the campus since 2024.
Before taking over as interim chancellor, Davies had been UNMC’s senior vice chancellor since 2017, overseeing all UNMC colleges and a health sciences library. He had also been dean of graduate studies at the medical center campus since 2012.
“UNMC is an extraordinary academic health center because of our people, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our faculty, staff, students, Nebraska communities and all those who depend on us,” Davies said in a press release. “I firmly believe our best work is ahead of us, and we will get there together.”
In an interview with Nebraska Public Media News, Davies said people at UNMC are committed to finding new cures and therapies, saving lives and improving the workforce.
“It’s not just a job for them,” Davies said. “It’s really a calling for many of our people here, and I feel so privileged to be able to serve amongst such people every day.”
He added that UNMC wants to help meet workforce needs in rural and underserved urban communities. Davies said he’s proud to be a Nebraskan and to represent the medical center.
“Our mission is to lead the world in transforming lives for individuals and communities, and we do it by engaging extraordinary research, extraordinary training of the next generation of healthcare providers, and then also extraordinary patient care,” Davies said.
Prior to his time at UNMC, Davies was a professor at Michigan State University and chair of the MSU College of Human Medicine and Pediatrics and Human Development Department. He was also the director of the Child Health Research Unit at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, and the Child Health Research Institute at the University of Calgary.
The search committee that selected Davies was made up of representatives from all of the University of Nebraska campuses, Nebraska Medicine and community members. David Jackson, NU executive vice president and provost, led the committee with assistance from search firm CarterBaldwin.
Current NU President Dr. Jeffrey Gold was the previous chancellor of UNMC for a decade. He left the role to lead the university system.
“Dr. Davies is a thoughtful and strategic leader, an accomplished researcher, an incredible physician, and someone I’ve been proud to work alongside for more than a decade,” Gold said in a news release. “During his time at UNMC, he has repeatedly demonstrated a deep commitment to students, patients, and communities across Nebraska. I commend the search committee for their work in identifying such a strong and experienced candidate.”
Davies will visit with students, faculty, staff and stakeholders on the UNMC campus and in Lincoln, Kearney, Norfolk and Scottsbluff as part of the public vetting process. The details of those visits are still to be announced.