Catching up between sessions are, from left, Robert Martines, D.C.,
West ’89; Sherry McAllister, West ’96; Instructor Gary de Wet,
D.C., Davenport ’66; and Bahar Nehawandian, D.C., West ’95. |
“Our Time is Now” was a fitting theme for the 2008 Homecoming
on Palmer’s West Campus, Oct. 10-11. The gathering celebrated
a surge in enrollment with a jam-packed Prospective Student
Event (PSE) and the expansion of the Palmer Student Alumni
Foundation (PSAF) to the West Campus.
“This year’s Homecoming was quite a successful event,” said
West Campus President Bill Meeker, D.C., M.P.H., West ’82.
“The continuing education programs were excellent, the 25-year
reunion dinner was a lot of fun, and the new Palmer Center for
Business Development programs were very well received.”
The event marking the inauguration of PSAF on the West Campus
provided information on how this student-governed organization
helps students transition to alumni. Presenters included Dr.
Meeker; West Campus Clinician and Alumni Representative
Thomas Milus, D.C.; Bill Moreau, D.C., Davenport ’81; Executive
Director for Alumni Mickey Burt, D.C., Davenport ’73; Davenport
Campus student and PSAF President Tom Bench; and West
Campus alumni Jack Bourla, D.C., ’97; and Robert Chatfield,
D.C., ’83. The PSE included the Interactive Classroom Experience
and presentations and demonstrations by West Campus faculty
and administrators. It also provided guests the opportunity to tour
the campus and enjoy the fun of Ultimate Casual Friday.
“Every participant told us that this was the most organized and
informative visit they have ever attended,” said West Campus
Enrollment Director Julie Behn of this year’s PSE.
Career Center Coordinator Tom Minkalis, of the Palmer Center
for Business Development, addressed students on “Filling Your
Entrepreneurial Tool Belt” during the Destination Success Student
Symposium. |
Also new to the West Campus was the two-day Destination
Success Student Symposium, an event organized by the Palmer
Center for Business Development. The student-centered track featured
a lineup of speakers who focused on business-related
themes aimed at helping future doctors establish and maintain
successful practices.
For the second year in a row, Homecoming featured a special
program to recognize the doctors who have opened their offices
and enhanced the student experience through participation in
the Field Training Program (FTP). This component of the Practice
Development Quarter provides students in their final quarter of
study with “real world” experience prior to graduation.
West Campus President Dr. Bill Meeker, center, gathers with
students during Homecoming’s final event, the Gala Dinner/
Dance Celebration. |