MWU Hosts Open Houses for Glendale Clinic and Dental College

Yesterday, in the 100+ degree heat, we ran from one open house to another on our Glendale Campus to celebrate two exciting initiatives. The first event was a grand opening of our new multidisciplinary clinic, and the second was a reception for the Valley's dental community for our College of Dental Medicine. Both drew large crowds of supporters and interested community members.

The Midwestern University Clinic is a beautiful two-story facility located at the southwest corner of our campus entrance at Utopia and 59th Avenue. The concept of the Clinic is to provide a practice site for our clinical faculty, a teaching rotation site for our students, and excellent primary care services for the community. The Clinic features practices for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, Family Practice, Podiatric Medicine, Optometry, and Pharmacist Consulting Services. Patients will be able to meet many of their family's health care needs in this one location, relying on the services of top faculty from our academic programs. The Clinic itself is beautiful, with a spacious and comfortable lobby area and large patient rooms in each specialty area.

I have been a patient of our OMM Clinic, and I can state from personal experience that the physicians and staff are exceptional. At the open house, Glendale Vice Mayor Manny Martinez welcomed the crowd and remarked on the phenomenal growth of MWU and our many partnerships with the community. Glendale City Council members Steve Frate and Yvonne Knaack also attended the event. Along with members of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and its President Don Rinehart, the city officials and University leaders ceremoniously cut the ribbon to officially dedicate the clinic. Another special guest at the event was Julie Jenkins, wife of podiatry faculty member Dr. David Jenkins. Julie was commissioned to create the artwork for the lobby and public areas of the clinic. Her colorful images of flowers were a serene and beautiful complement to the clinic's interior. On a personal note, Julie also takes wonderful photos of dogs. She has taken great photos of my two hounds as well as many other MWU dogs.

Photo: Glendale Vice Mayor Martinez, Dr. Goeppinger, University Administrations, and Glendale City Council and Chamber of Commerce members cut the ribbon for the new clinic (I'm hiding in the back row on the far right).

Shortly after all the cake was eaten at the clinic opening, we were off to the reception for MWU's new College of Dental Medicine. We invited the dentists from throughout Arizona to visit our campus, meet our leadership team, and learn about our new dental program. We were so pleased that nearly 200 dentists came out for the evening wine & cheese reception. The guests heard from Dr. G (MWU President & CEO Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D., who is affectionately known by all as Dr. G), who shared the mission of the University and our commitment to providing a top-quality dental education program. Attendees mingled with Dennis Paulson, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Academic Officer for Medical and Dental Education, and Richard Simonsen, D.D.S., Dean of the College of Dental Medicine. Many local dentists were interested in faculty positions or in helping with our clinical education program. Others were simply curious about our plans, while several prospective students also attended. Current medical students provided walking tours of campus.

The new dental college will start in Fall 2008 with the inaugural class of 100 students (applications are now being accepted at the centralized dental education web site). MWU is building a new three-story academic building, Glendale Hall, which will house classrooms, the simulation lab, and offices for the dental school as well as the osteopathic medical school and podiatric medical program. We are also constructing a large auditorium building, so that we can host large ceremonies, such as graduations, on campus as well as new lecture classrooms. A new Student Center, Recreation & Wellness Center, and Interfaith Chapel will round out the construction projects over the next two years. We are also finalizing the locations for the dental clinic we will build in the local community to provide a training site for our students and low-cost dental care for the residents.

All of which is to say this: MWU continues to grow and develop new programs to meet society's health care needs. In the decade we have been in Glendale, we have continued to create new academic degrees, provide health care services for the community, and build our reputation for excellence. Despite being exhausted by all of the festivities, not to mention the summer heat, it's days like yesterday that make me genuinely proud to be part of the MWU family.