Colleagues: 

I write to share news that our trusted friend and senior adviser, Frank Cerra, M.D. will be leaving the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education in mid-December.  Dr. Cerra has made contributions to the National Center too numerous to count over the last several years, building on a career and commitment to interprofessional values. I honor his wish now to spend more time with his family and grandchildren as well as pursue interests and commitments for which he has not had adequate time. 

Dr. Cerra and I have worked together for more than 15 years, first in his role as the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota and then over the past four years in supporting the early development of the National Center.  During this time, with our unique interprofessional team at the University of Minnesota, we gained a leadership perspective on the need to redesign health professional education with the complex needs of transforming health care – “The Nexus”. 

He leaves his role as senior adviser with our Nexus Innovation Network and National Center Data Repository in a well-developed and steady state.  We have much excitement and anticipation about the data that has been collected and what it will teach us about interprofessional practice and education and its impact on health outcomes.  Together, we have learned a great deal about how to support IPE development and collect data to continue to shape the field.

I am excited to announce we are currently seeking applications for a new director of our Nexus Innovation Network.  Dr. Cerra and I designed this position together.   We are seeking a strong leader with clinical experience in interprofessional team-based clinical environments who can lead our applied research team in collaboration with our education team.  

For more information about this opportunity, visit umn.edu/jobs and enter ID number 314208. I encourage you to share this opportunity with others.  We will be following up with various groups to share transition plans in the coming days. 

Please join me in thanking Dr. Cerra for his contributions.