At the Dec. 17
retirement reception for Davenport Campus President Donald P Kern, D.C., 7,
Chancellor Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D., noted that although Dr. Kern was
retiring on Dec. 31, he would continue to play an important role at the campus.
He said that Dr. Kern will remain a liaison between the College and its
alumni—through visits with alumni and at the Davenport Campus Homecoming.
After 50 consecutive years of employment at Palmer
College, students and employees gathered in the Student Union to wish Dr. Kern
well and thank him for his half-century of service to the College. This included
the awarding of the Delta Sigma Chi Service Award by current and past members of
the Greek fraternity.
When it was Dr. Kern’s chance to speak, he recalled
that when he was a student at the Fountainhead, B.J. Palmer was still President.
Today five generations of the Kern family have graduated from Palmer, of which
Dr. Kern is a third-generation member.
The 1958 Davenport Campus graduate also paid tribute
to his wife, Nancy, for all of the support she had given him throughout his
Palmer career. Demonstrating how their partnership had thrived during their
50-plus years together, he recalled a story of the first time they went dancing
in which he kept stepping on his partner’s toes. He had clearly improved since
then as the two of them took a moment to dance on the stage.
At his alma mater, Dr.
Kern has been a faculty clinician, a president (twice), and everything in
between. He has been clinic director, Technique Department faculty member,
director of Admissions, chairman of the Technique Department, dean of Continuing
Education, assistant to the president, vice president for Student Affairs and
executive vice president.
Dr. Kern was named interim president of Palmer
College, in 1986, before becoming president in 1988, but he never stopped
teaching. After serving six years as president, he stepped down to return to
full-time teaching in the Technique Department in 1994.
Then in 2001, Dr. Kern was asked to serve as senior
campus administrator at the brand-new Florida Campus. His expertise was then
sought after in 2004, for the role of interim president on the Davenport Campus,
then became president in 2005 for an unprecedented second time.
Dr. Kern’s reception
also gave those attending a chance to meet with Dr. Kern and sign an oversized
going-away card. His commitment to the College was further recognized by a
poignant video that demonstrated his devotion to teaching students and his wry
sense of humor.
Photo: Dr. Donald Kern (front row, third
from left) was presented a plague celebrating his 50 years with Palmer College
of Chiropractic from the Delta Sigma Chi fraternity.