New Students Welcomed, Classes Begin

Over the past two weeks, we have held student orientations at both of our campuses. While these events include a lot of information for the new students to absorb, they also provide opportunities for them to meet their faculty and classmates who they will share their academic life with over the next several years.

In Glendale, incoming classes included 151 students at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, 131 at the College of Pharmacy-Glendale, 37 in the Arizona Podiatric Medicine Program, 16 Cardiovascular Perfusion, 20 Occupational Therapy, 49 Biomedical Sciences (bachelor's and master's), and the inaugural 5 students in the Clinical Psychology Program. They join the 86 Physician Assistant and 15 Nurse Anesthesia students who started in June.

In Downers, new matriculants included 202 in the Chicago College of Pharmacy, 24 in Clinical Psychology, 29 in Biomedical Sciences, and 35 in Occupational Therapy who join the 85 Physician Assistant and 48 Physical Therapy students who started in June and the 173 Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine students who began at the end of July.

So, at both campuses, our new students totalled 1,108--yet another record incoming class size for MWU. Next year we'll add another 100 dental medicine students and another class of clinical psychology students in Glendale. As our community continues to grow, so does our outreach into new professions and our students exposure and understanding of more aspects of the health care team. While you will learn more closely with those in your own program, you will get to know--in classes, in the residence halls, and in student organizations--the students from other disciplines who add new perspectives to your understanding and appreciation of the complexities of health care delivery. When our students enter their practices, they already know the roles of physicians and pharmacists and PAs, OTs, PTs, clinical scientists, podiatrists, psychologists, anesthetists, perfusionists, and soon dentists. They will already have friends and colleagues in these other professions and will gain that advantage over some of their counterparts.

MWU is committed to the health care team concept, as noted in our tagline: Tomorrow's Health Care Team...Learning Together Today. Yes, it's a marketing slogan, but it is a concept we try to "live" at each of our campuses. It begins at orientation, when our students are brought together as one group of new students and introduced to all aspects of the university. It extends into the first-year CORE course, where all first-year students come together for an interdisciplinary class teaching the common principles and addressing the overriding issues that affect each college and program.

As classes started this week in Glendale and next week in Downers, we are proud to welcome our newest students, thank them for choosing MWU, and wish them the best of luck in their professional health care education. My personal best wishes to all of you for a safe and healthy Labor Day weekend.