MWU Hits the Big Easy for AOA 2009

From the Halloween revelers on Bourbon Street to the physician educators in the convention center, New Orleans was the place to be this week for the 2009 American Osteopathic Association Convention. Many MWU students, alumni, faculty, and staff visited the Big Easy to participate in the many activities.

On Sunday, the MWU team of myself, Barb Wysocki (Director of Development & Alumni Relations), and Walt Prozialeck (CCOM Professor of Pharmacology) played in the AAOA Golf Outing at the Audubon Park Course. The weather was beautiful and our game improved as the afternoon progressed, ending up with five under par for the scramble. I also humbly won the Women's Longest Drive contest. Back at the conference hall, the MWU exhibit booth was open and representatives from several University Relations offices were on hand to greet visitors (Karen Ewing, Manager of Alumni Relations for Glendale; Lisa Hellman, Manager of Development for Downers Grove; Dana Fay, Director of Communications for Downers Grove and Glendale; Mike Laken, Director of Admissions for Downers Grove; and Jim Walter, Director of Admissions for Glendale).

Monday was the primary day for our alumni activities. We hosted approximately 150 CCOM and AZCOM alumni at the Hilton for our annual AOA alumni luncheon. Dr. G spoke about the continued growth on our campuses; our deans, Karen Nichols, D.O., CCOM, and Lori Kemper, D.O., AZCOM, gave updates of our colleges; and two students, Robert Schwendewend of CCOM and Mansoor Jatoi of AZCOM, provided their perspectives. I showed the alumni our new branding messages, and each attendee received a special gift of an MWU notebook.

The alumni reception was held Monday evening at Restaurant August, which features the creations of well-known chef John Besh. Many of us were thrilled that Chef Besh was able to visit our reception, taking photos with his fans and autographing copies of his latest cookbook. More than 75 alumni, students, and friends stopped by during the evening to enjoy the delicious appetizers and friendly camaraderie of the MWU family.

Chef John Besh (of Top Chef and Iron Chef fame) and Me

The conference continued on Tuesday, where MWU President and CEO Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D., received the Dale Dodson Award for Osteopathic Education from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. G was recognized for all she has done to promote and expand osteopathic education. Also during the conference, CCOM Dean Karen Nichols, D.O., was recognized as the President-Elect of the AOA. CCOM faculty member Kyle Ramsey, Ph.D., won the Korr Award for Research. Several CCOM and AZCOM students were also honored during the research conference for their scientific posters and for their leadership roles amongst the osteopathic schools.

All in all, the AOA conference was a great success. We were able to reconnect with many of our alumni and our students were able to network with future colleagues in the osteopathic family. New Orleans, as always, was a wonderful host, with great restaurants, wonderful culture, and a darn good football team (the undefeated Saints beat the Falcons on Monday Night Football!). A good time was had in the Big Easy, and we are looking forward to next year's conference in San Francisco.