Admissions, Alumni, and More

If you live in the Midwest, you know the past few weeks have not been great summer weather. Last night, the Chicago area saw some of the worst thunderstorms in lightning in more than 20 years. However, that did not dampen the spirits of the University Relations staff, who rode out the storm at The View, a nearby golf course pub.

Despite the 110+ heat wave, MWU's Glendale Campus is in the midst of a major campus expansion plan. Five new buildings are under construction with completion anticipated by summer and fall of 2008. And, to better accommodate our prospective students, applicants, and interviewees, the Office of Admissions has moved to a larger suite of offices at the northwest corner of campus.

Over the past year, MWU has been undergoing a comprehensive review of its academic program in preparation for our reaccreditation site visit with The Higher Learning Commission in January 2008. I have spent the better part of this week reviewing the third draft of our self-study report. Needless to say, accreditation is taken very seriously at MWU and is something we do very well.

Today's guest blog comes from Abena Patton, Manager of Special Events and Web Communications for the Downers Grove Campus. For several years, Abena has worked with the people from St. Jude's to host the kickoff to their Chicago-to-Peoria race. Next year, she plans to participate as a runner.

Upon returning from my vacation (a week of hiking in Yosemite, which was fabulous), I received some exciting news about one of our CCOM students who has been elected to a very prominent national position. Christopher Messana, a fourth-year osteopathic medical student at Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, IL, was recently elected as the student representative to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Board of Trustees during its recent House of Delegates meeting in Chicago.