Passionate student advocate awarded by alumni
Posted: October 24, 2007KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (Oct. 24, 2007) – Ron Gaber, vice president and dean of students is a passionate student advocate. For his leadership and dedication, the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association awarded Gaber the Living Tribute Award on October 1 at the KOAA Luncheon during the American Osteopathic Association Conference in San Diego, Calif.
Gaber has spent nearly 20 years as the leader of Student and Alumni Services. He is an associate professor in the department of family medicine, preventive medicine, and community health at ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is a certified death educator and co-author of “The Death of Adult Children.” In addition, Gaber co-founded ATSU’s Still Well Program and is a member of the Admissions Committee. He is a faculty admission interviewer and faculty advisor to the KCOM Student Government Association.
“I genuinely like, enjoy, and respect students. We bring wonderful people to KCOM and ATSU,” Gaber said. “The saddest part is that while I get to know the majority, there are always some I don’t get to know, and I feel I have missed someone great!”
As the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association’s Living Tribute Award recipient, Gaber feels an enormous responsibility to live up to the award and those honored in the past.
“This is the most significant honor of my career, because it comes from our alumni, the very people I have been honored to serve,” he said. “For me to be included among the past recipients is like being on an all-star team.”