Dr. Kern has always enjoyed staying
connected with students. He’s seen here
in a 2010 photo with members of the
Campus Guides. |
When Donald P. Kern, D.C., Davenport
’58, joined the Clinic faculty at Palmer
College in 1960, Dr. B.J. Palmer was still
president of the College. Then in 1961,
B.J. passed away, and his son, Dr. David
Palmer, became president. Little did Dr.
Kern know then that he would one day
take the place of his mentor, Dr. Dave,
at the helm of Palmer.
In June 2010, Dr. Kern celebrated
50 years of continuous service to the
College, not only as faculty clinician and
later, president, but through nearly every
role 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 1987 before becoming
president in 1988—but he’s 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 new Florida
Campus. He returned to the Davenport
Campus in 2004 as interim president
before becoming president in 2005 for
an unprecedented second time.
A third-generation member of a fivegeneration
chiropractic family, Dr. Kern
says that teaching students is one of the
main reasons he still enjoys coming
to work in the morning. He also gets
great satisfaction from “helping Palmer
stay number one” and “the great people
here—students, staff and faculty.”
The president’s regard for the people
he works with is mutual. Florida
Campus President Peter Martin, D.C.,
Davenport ’68, who has also served
as president of the West Campus, says,
“Don has always exemplified to me
the very best qualities of a teacher:
kindness and compassion. Don is both
the consummate chiropractor and the
consummate college president. It has
been, and continues to be, my privilege
to know him and to work with him.”
Jennaleigh McKinley, D.C., Davenport
’10, who once served as president of
the Student Council, sees Dr. Kern as
a role model. “He is always willing to
lend a helping hand and truly wants
to see each and every student at Palmer
succeed, and have a great time doing
it!” she says.
Reflecting on his time at Palmer, Dr.
Kern believes his legacy will have to do
with financial stability, and the College’s
identity—namely helping to craft the
Palmer Tenets, starting the President’s
Club and strengthening the College
endowment. “Our endowment has
grown from about $6 million in 1987
to around $30 million today,” he says.
“The one thing that will guarantee the
perpetuity of this institution is a strong
endowment fund.”
“On behalf of the College, we recognize
and thank Dr. Kern for his five decades
of work,” says Dr. Dennis Marchiori.
“On a personal level, I admire Don for
his student focus, strength, stability and
patience.”
Of the many lessons Dr. Kern has
learned over the years, he believes the
most important one is that “it takes a
team to be a successful college. You can’t
do it yourself,” he says. “I think I’ve
been able to show people that we’re all
in this together, and to encourage them
to strive together to make it work.”