"North Dakota, Heal Thyself" receives national award In October, Dr. John Vennes accepted an award from the North Dakota Library Association for the book he co-authored with Patrick McGuire, "North Dakota, Heal Thyself." This history of the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences was selected by North Dakota librarians as the most notable government publication by the state in 2006. The book was then submitted to the American Library Association (ALA) as a nomination for the national Notable Documents list. ALA has just announced the 2006 Notable Documents awards. "North Dakota, Heal Thyself" is one of just 12 publications in the state and local documents category. The dust jacket describes the book as “the dramatic story of how a tiny school of medicine that opened its doors one hundred years ago among the wheat fields of the fledgling University of North Dakota grew into a modern institution that has become a national model of community-based medical training.” Especially intriguing are the accounts of its precarious existence during the depression years, and the school’s rocky transition from a two-year to a full four-year medical school when support of the state legislature had to be won. Dr. Vennes, a native of Zahl, N.D., has had a long history with the UND medical school, having joined the faculty in 1952. In the ensuing years, he served as chair of the microbiology department, as interim dean of the medical school, and as associate dean. He has worked under 10 of the 12 deans of the medical school, including Harley E. French. The book may be purchased online at www.med.und.edu/alumni/merchandise.html or by contacting Wendy Opsahl in the medical school’s development office (701-777-2003 or wopsahl@medicine.nodak.edu). -- Lila Pedersen, Director, Library of the Health Sciences, lpederse@medicine.nodak.edu, 701-777-2580