Maurer, Harold M.

Biography

Harold M. Maurer was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 10, 1936. He received his A.B. degree from New York University in 1957 and his medical degree from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in 1961. Maurer completed an internship at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and later his pediatric residency at Babies Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Center in New York.

Maurer began his career as the chief of pediatrics for the U.S. Public Health Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia from 1964-1966, before completing a pediatric hematology-oncology visiting fellowship at Babies Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Center in New York. He then joined the Children’s Medical Center of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He served as the Jesse Ball DuPont Professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1976-1993. He developed into one the foremost experts on rhabdomyosarcoma and helped form the Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group. Maurer chaired the group from 1972-1998. The group is recognized with raising the cure rate from 20 to 75 percent for children afflicted with this cancer of the muscle tissue.

In October 1993, Maurer assumed the position of Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. As dean, Maurer led the negotiations to merge Clarkson and University Hospitals into the Nebraska Medical Center (later called Nebraska Medicine).

On December 1, 1998, Maurer was named chancellor of UNMC. As chancellor, Maurer increased extramural grant support from $30 million to $115 million. He was instrumental in securing donations to build new facilities including the Durham Research Centers I and II, Sorrell Center for Health Science Education, and the Center of Public Health. Maurer also helped to develop new programs including Regenerative Medicine, Bioterrorism Preparedness and Robotic Surgery.

Maurer has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards. The National Cancer Institute awarded Dr. Maurer the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Children’s Oncology Group in 2003. The Omaha World-Herald named Maurer “Midlander of the Year” in 2005. In 2006, Dr. Maurer’s alma mater, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, honored him with the Clark-Curran Award in Medical Administration.

Maurer has sat on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Hematology, the Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, and the Medical and Pediatric Oncology Journal. He has authored more than 200 publications, edited a pediatrics textbook, and a book on rhabdomyosarcoma.

Maurer retired as chancellor of UNMC on June 30, 2013. He retained the chancellor position until his replacement took office on February 1, 2014. He is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Chancellor Emeritus. In retirement, he and his wife Beverly split their time between Nebraska and Florida.

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