ATHENS, Ohio -- On Saturday, Sept. 8, Reed Tuckson, M.D., will deliver the keynote address at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine's (OU-COM) 26th annual Convocation Ceremony. The ceremony -- which takes place at 11 a.m. in Nelson Commons -- welcomes OU-COM's incoming class of medical students and is the last event scheduled for OU-COM's 25th anniversary celebration.
The Sept. 8 Convocation also includes the school's White Coat Ceremony, during which the 108 members of the Class of 2005 receive their white coats. The White Coat Ceremony had in past years been held at the beginning of the third year of students' medical education and marked the transition to the clinical phase of medical education. Because of recent revisions to the school's curriculum, OU-COM officials note, it is now quite appropriate for incoming first-year students to be coated. The white coats donned during the ceremony are provided by the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation.
"This class has the distinction of beginning its studies at OU-COM at the same time we are concluding our yearlong silver anniversary celebration -- recognizing 25 years of 'Preserving Tradition, Providing Distinction' in medical education, research and service," said Daniel Marazon, D.O., interim dean of the college. Marazon will serve as master of ceremonies at the Convocation.
"The Convocation also affords our college the opportunity to award the Phillips Medal of Public Service, the college's highest honor, to individuals who have made great contributions to health care, education and public service," said Marazon.
Tuckson, senior vice president of consumer health and medical care advancement for the UnitedHealth Group, is one of three recipients of the Phillips Medal. Among the past recipients are former Ohio Gov. James Rhodes; former U.S. Sen. John Glenn; former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, J.D.; Ohio First Lady Hope Taft; and William Anderson, D.O., surgeon, civil rights leader and past president of the American Osteopathic Association.
In addition to Tuckson, this year's recipients of the Phillips Medal are Thomas Wesley Allen, D.O., vice president for health sciences and dean at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and Ramas M. Pai, M.B.B.S., president and chancellor of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Manipal, India.
Tuckson is a 1978 graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He has written extensively on many topics such as community health, disparities in health status and medical leadership issues.
Allen's tenure at Oklahoma State has been highlighted by two firsts -- the creation of two new centers that were the first of their kind at a medical school in the United States. One center was for telemedicine education and research and the other was for aerospace and hyperbaric medicine.
Pai has throughout his 43-year career been at the forefront of the medical community in India. Since receiving his M.B.B.S. degree from Karnataka Medical College in 1958, Pai has been involved in medical education as well as university and hospital administration.
The Phillips Medal is named for Jody Galbreath Phillips and her late husband, J. Wallace, both longtime friends of Ohio University. It has been awarded to outstanding men and women since OU-COM's inception in 1976. Among those others participating in the ceremony along with Marazon will be Peter Bell, D.O., president elect of the Ohio Osteopathic Association, and Jay Shubrook, D.O. ('96), president of the OU-COM Society of Alumni and Friends.
It has been a celebratory year for OU-COM and its 25 years of existence. To commemorate this year, the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio Senate, Gov. Bob Taft and Athens Mayor Ric Abel issued official resolutions or proclamations recognizing the contributions of the college. In the most recent of these commemorations, Abel commended "all the faculty, administration and staff of OU-COM for their exemplary service during this past quarter-century to the people of the city of Athens, Athens County and surrounding communities of Southeastern Ohio."
Earlier this summer, the Ohio House of Representatives recognized the silver anniversary of the college, praising the college for performing a "vital role in preparing students to develop their knowledge and skills as medical professionals and ... (emphasizing) the training of family physicians for underserved areas of Ohio."
Through visionary educational programs such as the Centers for Osteopathic Education and Research and service efforts such as the University Osteopathic Medical Center, the Mobile Health Unit and the "Family Health" radio show, the college, declared the House, "has established itself as an outstanding educational institution in the State of Ohio through its quality programming."
Representative Larry Householder, whose district is located in Southeastern Ohio, sponsored the measure leading to the college's silver anniversary recognition by the House.
Students will give tours of OU-COM from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. The tours leave from the lobby of Grosvenor Hall on Ohio University's West Green.
For more information on the Convocation, contact Chip Rogers, director of advocacy, at (740) 593-2174.
