MWU Alumni Senate Meets and Makes Plans

Last weekend, the MWU Alumni Senate met on the Downers Grove Campus to discuss the findings from a recent alumni survey and to make plans for a travel CME program. In addition, they discussed the activities of their respective alumni associations and heard updates about the University.

The Alumni Senate was founded about six years ago as a means to bring together alumni representatives of all five colleges of Midwestern University. Each college appoints one senator to serve on this group, which meets annually in person, rotating between campuses. Last year, the Senate decided to work toward creating a "signature program" for the Alumni Senate, which would serve all alumni of the University and unite them in a common purpose and bond. Several suggestions were made, and a survey was distributed to all emailable alumni this past spring. The results of the survey were very clear--the alumni were very interested in a travel CME program.

With this direction, the Alumni Senate considered several travel program options, ranging from a cruise to a biking trip to a tour of the Olympic Training site. The consensus was to pursue a trip to the wine country, with opportunities for wine tours, bike trips, hiking, and other cultural and recreational activities. The continuing education portion of the program will likely focus on Syndrome X, which focuses on primary care topics of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and pulmonary disease. Alumni from all of MWU's colleges--osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, PA, PT, OT, clinical psychology, and biomedical sciences will be invited to participate in both the social and academic components of this event.

In addition to the meeting and the planning, the senators held some interesting conversations about their time at MWU and their experiences as alumni. They expressed a great interest in continuing to reach out to current students--both as faculty and preceptors and as mentors. Their interest in continuing their strong traditions while supporting the needs of current students was very evident.

And, beyond the work that we did, we also had a lot of fun. Friday night included appetizers at Ditkas and a wonderful dinner at Harry Karay's at the new Westin Hotel in Lombard (about 10 minutes from our Downers Grove Campus). The meeting was held all day Saturday on campus and, despite the cold and snow, we walked the entire campus, toured the new Wellness & Recreation Hall and the Perrin Chapel, and enjoyed a delicous breakfast in the Commons and a great lunch from Corner Bakery. For dinner Saturday night, we braved the commute to downtown, where we enjoyed fabulous gourmet food at the Kevin Restaurant. It was my first taste of ostrich (which was delicious), and lots of wonderful main courses. When it was time for dessert, we each ordered something different and passed it around the table so everyone could have a bite. Clearly, the group had bonded by this time!

My thanks to our Alumni Senate participants: Chair Ed Cohen, Pharm.D. (CCP); Vice Chair Pamela Georgeson, D.O. (CCOM); Karen Weeks, D.P.T. (CHS/PT); Alan Schalscha, D.O. (AZCOM); Kevin Borg, Pharm.D. (CPG); Anne Sullivan, M.M.S., PA-C (CHS/PA); and Mike Harmon, M.H.P.E. (CHS/BioMed). Their commitment to the University, to their professions, and to their colleagues is very inspiring. I am honored to serve them and to support their efforts to advance the MWU Alumni Senate.