Two to be honored at UNMC commencement in Omaha

Former USAF Surgeon General James Roudebush, MD, and transplant pioneer James Armitage, MD, to be recognized.

Two University of Nebraska Medical Center alums will be honored by their alma mater with special awards at UNMC’s Omaha commencement May 9, at 9 a.m. at the Baxter Arena.

One thousand and sixty-eight UNMC students will graduate in May, with 652 at the Omaha ceremony.

UNMC College of Medicine graduate and longtime faculty member James Armitage, MD, will receive the J.G. Elliott Award, given annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to medicine and health programs for the state of Nebraska. Dr. Armitage, currently the Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine, developed the medical center’s world-renowned bone marrow transplant program and Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group. Dr. Armitage is an internationally recognized expert in the research and treatment of lymphoma.

Fellow UNMC medicine alumnus James Roudebush, MD, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree for achievement in health care and service to our nation. Dr. Roudebush, from Gering, Nebraska, rose to the highest levels of our armed forces while also making a difference as a hands-on physician. He was the 19th Surgeon General of the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Lt. General.

Both honorees are University of Nebraska-Lincoln alums.

Dr. Armitage, and the programs he led, helped put the medical center on the map. But most importantly, these programs, and Dr. Armitage, made a difference in the lives of hundreds of patients and their families in Nebraska and across the U.S. Dr. Armitage is beloved by these patients and their families not just because he saved their lives, but because he saw them as people.

Dr. Roudebush provided vision and direction to more than 42,800 people assigned to 75 medical facilities worldwide; he advised the Secretary of the Air Force and Air Force Chief of Staff, as well as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. He also made an impact on the personal level, doctor to patient. He was a practicing family physician and flight surgeon. He’s led clinics, hospitals and medical centers at air bases across the U.S. and overseas. As a flight surgeon he has more than 1,100 hours in fighter, bomber, transport and refueling aircraft.

The J.G. Elliott Award is given in memory of Jack Elliott, who served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents for 20 years until his death in 1974.

In addition to the May 9 ceremony in Omaha, UNMC commencement ceremonies will be held:

Thursday, May 7:
-9:30 a.m., Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
-2 p.m. at Northeast Community College, Cox Activities Center, Norfolk, Nebraska
-7 p.m. at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Health and Sports Center, Kearney, Nebraska

Saturday, May 9:
-3 p.m. (MDT) at Scottsbluff High School Auditorium, Scottsbluff, Nebraska