ASHS held its spring commencement ceremony for four online programs March 6 at the Phoenix Convention Center. A total of 298 students earned a master of science or doctoral degree in Human Movement, Physician Assistant Studies, Audiology, and Physical Therapy.
“This graduation highlights the working professionals in their respective fields who have decided to get their next degree,” said ATSU-ASHS Dean Randy Danielsen, Ph.D., PA-C, DFAAPA.
Karen T. Snider, D.O.
Effective March 1, Karen T. Snider, D.O., became chair of the Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Department at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM). She has served as acting chair since November 2008.
Dr. Snider has served the University as associate professor of the OMM department and as director of the undergraduate OMM fellows program since 2005.
Student Services Assistant Director Arthur Matthews, M.A., was recently certified as a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC) by the Center for Credentialing and Education, Inc.
As a DCC, Matthews is nationally recognized as a professional with training in best practices in distance counseling. Distance counseling is an approach that takes the best practices of traditional counseling as well as some of its own unique advantages and adapts them for delivery to clients via electronic means to maximize the use of technology-assisted counseling techniques.
Aaron Nelson, M.S., ATC-L, PES, CES
ATSU-ASHS’ Human Movement adjunct faculty member Aaron Nelson, M.S., ATC-L, PES, CES, was named the 2008-09 Joe O’ Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year award by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA). Nelson, who is also the head athletic trainer for the Phoenix Suns, was formally recognized during a Phoenix Suns’ game on Feb. 19.
The honor was bestowed on Nelson by his fellow NBATA members because of his accomplishments in injury prevention and the effective rehabilitation of Suns players throughout the season. “Aaron has demonstrated immense dedication to the league and the safety and health of its players,” said Wally Blasé, NBATA chairman.
Nelson is in his 16th season with the Phoenix Suns, 11th as head athletic trainer.
“The Phoenix Suns and ATSU are proud to have Aaron Nelson on their teams,” said ATSU Provost Craig Phelps, D.O., FAOASM. “Aaron approaches life and work with passion and compassion second to none. Hopefully he will be providing great care and educational experiences for many years to come.”
Debra Loguda-Summers
Still National Osteopathic Museum Curator Debbra Loguda-Summers recenlty received the Employee Excellence Award for the 4th quarter of 2009.
Summers has been a museum staff member for 10 years. In the role of curator, she works daily with international researchers, ATSU faculty and administration, student doctors, and the general public interested in their family’s past or the history of osteopathic medicine.
“Debbie is friendly, knowledgeable about the collection, and always willing to assist a museum guest by staying late or answering desperate researcher emails on her off duty hours,” said Museum Director Jason Haxton, M.A.
Most recently, Summers has been instrumental in working with ATSU’s Grants Department to acquire eight grants totaling nearly $206,000 for preservation and care of the museum’s collections.
“Deb is known by all who work with her for her limitless energy, passion and dedication to the museum and its staff,” said Barb J. Magers, musuem curatorial research assistant. “She is committed to the museum’s success and truely one of its major assets.”
A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS) awarded scholarships to one student from each of the school’s five residential programs at a luncheon held on the Arizona campus on Friday, Feb. 26.
The ASHS Dean’s Scholarship Award is given to students who demonstrate excellence in scholastic accomplishments, professional leadership, and social consciousness as evidenced by achievements during their program of study. “One of the highlights of the Dean’s Scholarship Awards is to see the quality of our students and how they strive to make a difference in people’s lives,” said ASHS Dean Randy Danielsen, Ph.D., PA-C, DFAAPA.
The 2009-10 scholarship award recipients are: Sarah Cayton, athletic training ’10; Rebecca Johnson, audiology ’11; Kendra Mitchell, occupational therapy ’11; Tabitha Hannum, physical therapy ’11; and Robin Lee, physician assistant studies ’10.
Stuart selected out of more than 200 COMLEX item writers
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) Microbiology/Immunology Associate Professor Melissa K. Stuart, Ph.D., was recently selected as 2009 Item Writer of the Year for COMLEX-USA Level 1 by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, Inc. (NBOME).
NBOME is a not-for-profit corporation that serves public and state licensing agencies by administering examinations testing the medical knowledge of those who seek to serve the public as osteopathic physicians. The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensure Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA) examination sequence is currently accepted for licensure in all 50 U.S. states and is used as an accreditation requirement for all schools and colleges of osteopathic medicine by the Commission on Accreditation of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine of the American Osteopathic Association.
COMLEX certified item writers write new questions, or items, for the three levels of the comprehensive exam. NBOME uses hundreds of item writers who submit new items for review and revision. Actual items used on the exams are the product of multiple revision steps.
Dr. Stuart was selected out of more than 200 item writers who contributed to COMLEX-USA Level 1 in 2009. According to NBOME, Dr. Stuart’s items are a model for the type and format needed to produce a valid, high-quality examination that assesses competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health professions.
“I am surprised and pleased to be recognized by the NBOME for my item-writing efforts,” said Dr. Stuart. “I feel that submitting questions for Part 1 COMLEX-USA is both a privilege and a professional obligation. By becoming involved in test development, my colleagues and I can play a role in ensuring that osteopathic medical students seeking licensure have a sound knowledge base in the basic sciences.”
As Item Writer of the Year for Level 1, Dr. Stuart will receive a personalized plaque, recognition by the NBOME board of directors at its annual meeting in December, and recognition in NBOME’s quarterly newsletter, The Osteopathic Examiner.
“Dr. Stuart’s achievement honors KCOM and ATSU,” said KCOM Dean Philip Slocum, D.O. “It demonstrates the quality of our program and faculty. The COMLEX-USA exams are licensure examinations that assure the public of the competence of graduating physicians. KCOM faculty have a long tradition of helping establish the standards that physicians must meet nation-wide.”
Dr. Stuart recently completed NBOME’s item-writing training course, achieving the status of “Certified NBOME Item-Writer,” during which she was required to submit 10 original items over the course of 12 months. She joins three other microbiology/immunology faculty members who also recently achieved “Certified NBOME Item-Writer” distinction: Neil J. Sargentini, Ph.D., chair and associate professor; Neal Chamberlain, Ph.D., associate professor; and Vineet K. Singh, Ph.D., associate professor.
“I am pleased that all of the faculty in my department have reached this goal of certification,” said Dr. Sargentini.
Three microbiology/immunology faculty not only submit exam questions to NBOME, but also serve as current or past members of the Level 1 Review Committees. Dr. Stuart has served on the Level 1 Item Review Committee since 2004, and Drs. Sargentini and Chamberlain are both past members of the committee.
Friends,
Since the last issue of the magazine, ATSU has continued to move forward on the journey to becoming the nation’s pre-eminent health sciences university. As expected, we received the final report from the Higher Learning Commission accrediting us for 10 full years, through 2018-19, the longest period that the Commission awards. There will be a focused visit in October of 2011, however, to follow up on a few concerns, such as governance, assessment, and planning. ASHS Dean Randy Danielsen and Tracey Lantz, my assistant and Secretary to the Board, will oversee preparations for the HLC focused visit, and we will be ready to demonstrate our progress with the following (and other) efforts:
• University-wide Assessment Committee: Under the leadership of Dr. David Wayne, Associate Dean of ASHS, and Dr. Michael A. McManis, Vice President for Planning and Assessment, the committee has already developed a set of Guiding Principles that clearly communicate to all ATSU constituents the purpose of the assessment program, as well as how the data will be used. The committee has also developed a draft list of student learning outcomes that would apply to all ATSU graduates across all programs.
• Campus Master Plan Task Force: Existing programs at Mesa lack adequate space, and many of the structures in Kirksville are in need of major renovation. Accordingly, I have asked Dr. Michael A. McManis to chair a committee to identify architectural consultants with experience in developing master plans. This project will result in campus plans for Mesa and Kirksville to meet current and future needs, including likely new program development. Dr. McManis will be assisted by Dr. Ted Wendel, Associate Provost for the Mesa Campus; Dr. Randy Danielsen, Dean of ASHS; Dr. Jim Bell, Associate Dean at ASDOH; Dr. Phil Slocum, Dean of KCOM; Lori Haxton, Associate Vice President for Student and Alumni Services; and Robert Ehrlich, Director of Facilities and Plant Operation.
• University Strategic Planning Committee: The USPC is also making excellent progress, led by co-chairs Dr. Douglas Wood, Dean of SOMA, and Dr. Michael A. McManis. The USPC has already drafted and refined mission, vision, and values statements based upon its review of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and the Board’s vision for ATSU. The committee has also begun to identify strategic issues that must be addressed in order for ATSU to fulfill its mission and attain its vision for the future. I am confident that we will have a new strategic plan in place for the 2010-11 academic year.
A. T. Still University is very strong financially and academically. We have valuable, creative people and excellent programs, and we are highly focused to become even better. As the newest members, Ronald Winkler and Kenneth Burdick, join the Board of Trustees, I continue to be pleased to work with the Board, and I am gratified by the support they have given me and this great institution as a whole. I am proud to be associated with ATSU as we move together toward becoming a truly pre-eminent university.
Peace,
Jack Magruder, President
Creation is life, and to some, a life’s work. I’ve made it mine, and this issue explores how alumni, students, faculty, and staff make it part of theirs.
Although every issue is an exercise in creativity, this issue was made more so by working with ATSU’s Jamie Carroll and Kelly Rogers on the cover design. Brainstorming and collaborating on the initial concept, seeing vision refined in sketch, setting up the perfect photo with Kelly, and then watching Jamie work his Photoshop magic fully illustrates the creative process that not only gets the job done but makes us glow.
The opportunity to showcase and share another side of ATSU alumni, faculty, staff, and students is a joy. When they’re not studying, working, teaching, or saving lives, this group really knows how to let down their guard and let creativity take over.
And we’re not just talking exceptional painting, drawing, writing, and photography. Two of those featured are musicians, and ASDOH student Joshua Davidson’s work is not simply creating usable household objects such as mirrors and lamps, but rather objets d’art.
The work they share here is a gift. Of their insight,http://blogs.atsu.edu/stillmagazine/wp-admin/page-new.php and of their heart. Whether they approach their art with pen, keystroke, guitar chord, camera, computer, or chisel, these artists give of themselves. Their creative work is a passion and as much a part of their make-up as their decision to practice medicine and/or teach or support those who do. I hope you enjoy getting to know them.
Kathryn Stroppel, B.J. Editor, Still Magazine
Friends,
As you read this issue of Still Magazine, Founder’s Day will recently have been celebrated on both campuses, including Still-A-Bration in Kirksville. These marvelous events marked the founding in 1892 of our great institution of higher learning by a caring and visionary physician, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still.
He began the American School of Osteopathy in a two-room building in Kirksville, Mo., and in 1894 the first graduating class consisted of five women and 16 men. The school underwent many positive changes over the years, growing into the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1971 and ultimately giving rise to A.T. Still University of Health Sciences in 2002.
Today, A.T. Still University, with five schools on two campuses and students and faculty working and studying both on and off site, still adheres to the same founding principles of whole-person healthcare. Even after the amazing transformation of more than a century, ATSU continues to focus on the central values of student learning in order to graduate in 2009 the highly trained and compassionate healthcare professionals whom Dr. Still envisioned back in 1892.
We are not yet finished with the transformational process. The University Strategic Planning Committee is well on its way to completing its recommendations by summer, including new mission and vision statements; the Board is actively reviewing its own policies as its members continue to support the work that we all do here; and all five schools consistently engage in assessment in order to improve what is already excellent. Since my last letter in this magazine, SHM has hired its first full-time faculty, ASDOH is implementing a web-based dental practice management system, new ATSU signage has gone up in Kirksville, and many faculty and students have made significant contributions around the globe. Indeed, ATSU’s international educational efforts are growing.
Here at home, as the country wrestles with healthcare issues, ATSU is poised to contribute significantly to the needs of the nation. Because providing primary care and helping underserved populations are at the heart of our values, I believe that ATSU will become an important force in the healthcare picture of the United States. We are already making great strides in this direction.
As we move forward into a promising future, keeping in mind Dr. Still’s founding principles, I know that ATSU will become even better than it is today. I am proud to be a part of this wonderful university and gratified by the splendid service all of you — faculty, staff, alumni, Board members, and friends — have provided and continue to provide to all our many communities across the country and around the world.
Peace,
Jack Magruder, President