Faculty/Industry Engagement Network

Background  

UMR launched its first undergraduate degree program in 2009 – the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS). The BSHS prepares students for a variety of careers in the health sciences, including health professions, graduate studies in health and bioscience related programs, and careers related to the health and bioscience industries. Unique features of the program include an integrated curriculum that focuses on health sciences, flexibility to explore career options, and a personalized capstone experience to deepen and enhance health science interests and career development. 

The BSHS is designed and delivered by the Center for Learning Innovation (CLI), a single academic unit in which faculty from across multiple disciplines deliver an integrated academic program. The CLI promotes a learner-centered, technology-enhanced, concept-driven, data-intensive, and community-integrated learning environment. Through ongoing assessment of student achievement, the CLI aspires to personalize learning, establish data-driven research on learning, and continuously improve curriculum.

Purpose of the Engagement Network  

Faculty strive to build a relevant and rigorous BSHS curriculum for positioning students to be competitive and prepared for continuing their education or starting careers in a health or bioscience related field. Critical to achieving this goal is a faculty who has a deeper understanding of the opportunities and expectations in the diverse career paths open to BSHS graduates. The goal of this engagement network is to build and nurture ongoing faculty relationships with practitioners and professionals in a variety of health and bioscience related fields. The network will provide a sustainable infrastructure that will allow representatives of industry, members of the community, and health professionals to give input and participate in co-development of ideas as a part of an ongoing feedback loop to enrich the BSHS curriculum design and development.

About the Membership

UMR faculty who teach in the natural and social sciences, mathematics, arts, and humanities participate in the network. We also have participation from several health professionals from wide array of sectors within the health industry.

Industry and health professional members include:

• Louis Kaeter, Staffing Systems Consultant, Allina Health System
• Karla Wysocki, Director of Information, American Cancer Society
• Ellie Saxer, District Manager - PCI Minneapolis, Daiichi Sankyo
• Jess Smith, Daiichi Sankyo
• Doug Hedlund, Director of Business Development, Mayo Clinic
• Diane Joyce, Mayo Clinic
• Johanna Rian, Director of Center for Humanities in Medicine, Mayo Clinic
• Paul Targonski, Physician, Mayo Clinic
• Michael Morton, Senior Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, Medtronic, Inc.
• Cori Ofstead, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ofstead & Associates, Inc.
• Sue Klenner, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Olmsted Medical Center
• Sue Schuett, Chief Information Officer, Olmsted Medical Center
• Philip Ebeling, Vice President of Research and Development, St. Jude Medical
• Dharani Ramamoorthy, President, Xylo Technologies

Membership Benefits

• Provide input to help develop the future workforce that will be necessary to sustain and innovate health science fields
• Develop and maintain ongoing relationships and networks with the university and its faculty and staff
• Recruit students for industry internships and positions 

Membership Information 

UMR will host two face-to-face network meetings per year that will span at least half of one day. The meetings will be held on campus in Rochester, Minnesota and there are designated funds to reimburse travel costs for participants.

The network meetings will include social networking components, as well as structured time for programmatic overviews, discussion, inquiry, and co-development of engagement initiatives and curriculum design as it relates to the field of health sciences. Our next engagement network meeting will be held on Monday, October 3, 2011 from 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. at UMR. 

If you are interested in more information about network membership, please contact: 

Jenny Hegland
Capstone Coordinator
University of Minnesota Rochester
jjheglan@umn.edu
(507) 258-8229
www.r.umn.edu/cli

This network is funded by the University of Minnesota Office for Public Engagement.