MWU Board Meets; Chanens Honored

The Board of Trustees of Midwestern University met last week in Arizona for their annual retreat. The four-day event provided trustees with opportunities to tour our Glendale Campus, hear from our department directors, and evaluate our academic and financial planning initiatives. The Board also honored several of its members for their service to the University and enjoyed several fun special events.

The retreat featured the theme of "Building Our Future." At the opening luncheon, the University honored the construction partners who have literally built our Glendale Campus since we first broke ground on Sahuaro Hall in December 1995. Since that time, we have worked with Chanen Construction to build over 25 buildings on our campus and several more in Downers Grove. Throughout the development of the campus, company founder Mr. Herman Chanen and his son Mr. Steve Chanen have been exemplary partners who have worked collaboratively with us to create a wonderful campus environment for our students, faculty, and staff. MWU President Dr. Kathleen Goeppinger and Executive Vice President Dr. Arthur Dobbelaere have worked with the Chanens and their team on every detail of every building. Dr. G and Art presented the Chanens with special gifts and warm words of friendship and respect. This luncheon and the celebration of this partnership started the retreat off with a focus on building and relationships.

Photo: Dr. Dobbelaere, Mr. Steven Chanen, Mr. Herman Chanen, and Dr. G

After lunch, the Board members climbed aboard the new MWU admissions bus and headed to campus for a tour of some of our new facilities. If you have been to campus for an admissions interview, you probably got to ride on our bus. We purchased it this year to make sure applicants and interviewees would be able to tour our new clinic building as well as our on-campus housing complex. Our own Director of Admissions, Jim Walter, serves the dual role of bus driver for the University.

The tour started at the Midwestern University Clinic, which opened in May 2007. Board members and their spouses were greeted by Clinic Manager Marci Williams, who took them through the various practices, starting with optometry. CCOM alumnus, AZCOM faculty member, and Clinic physician Tony Will, D.O., took the group through both the Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine areas. He explained the special design features in each patient room, which are larger to allow for students on clinical rotations at the Clinic. We then moved to the Pharmacy Consulting area, where Dr. Stacy Haber explained the Pharmacy Information Center, which is available for MWU alumni and preceptors who have pharmacy-related questions and need consultations. Pharmacy students will also be completing rotations at the Clinic to assist with patient education efforts and pharmacy consulting. We were then given a tour of the Podiatric Medicine and Surgery wing, where Dr. Gary Friedlander explained their practice and services. As a special treat, Dr. G also invited the Clinic's own artist, Julie Jenkins, whose beautiful floral photographs are on display throughout the clinic. Julie is the wife of one of our podiatry faculty and physicians, Dr. David Jenkins. She is also a renowned dog photographer and a good friend of MWU!

The group then got a very special tour of the Medic 155 unit, which is part of the MWU Clinic. This partnership between the City of Glendale and Midwestern University is truly unique throughout the country. MWU houses the city's Medic 155 squad, which is an ambulance that responds to high priority medical calls in Glendale. This program is specifically designed to educate paramedics as well as other health providers who want to learn more about emergency medicine. MWU students are able to participate in "ride-alongs" with the Medic 155 team. Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick and Assistant Chief Chuck Montgomery gave the tour of the Medic 155 sleeping quarters and ambulance bay, and, needless to say, the Board members were very impressed. Following the visit to the Clinic, the Board was able to take a brief "hard hat" tour of the new Glendale Hall, which is currently under construction. This building will be the largest on campus when it opens later this summer, and will be home to the new College of Dental Medicine, the expanded Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, along with several other MWU programs.

The campus tour was a great way to start off the Board retreat. On subsequent days, the Board heard presentations from all of the University's department directors, who described their accomplishments over the past two years. Other topics of the meeting included updates on current and new academic programs, financial reports, news from the University's Washington DC initiatives, and a report on MWU's Emergency Response Team.

Photo: MWU department directors Marian O'Brien, Amy Gibson, and Dana Fay join VP Angela Marty during their Board presentations at the annual retreat

At its formal recognition dinner, the Board honored several of its members for their years of service at the University: Mr. Alexander Irvine (25 years); Dr. Paul Steingard (10 years); Mr. Gerrit van Huisstede (10 years); and Mr. W. Jay Lovelace (10 years). The Board also enjoyed a fun evening of western and construction attire, as part of the "building" theme, which included a rousing game of "Family Feud."

MWU is fortunate to have such a caring and committed Board of Trustees who have selflessly served the University and supported our mission and our growth. They are so proud of the University, as they have seen it grow from one small college to now a well-known University with two beautiful campuses, many academic programs, and a very bright future. I'm very proud to know and serve them.