LEBANON, Oregon – Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest will welcome its fifth class of medical students this Saturday. The Convocation and White Coat Ceremony for COMP-Northwest will begin at 1 p.m. on Aug. 1 at the First Assembly of God, located at 726 W. Oak St. in Lebanon, Oregon. Doors open at noon for the ceremony and the public is welcome to attend.
John W. Becher, DO, president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), will serve as the keynote speaker for COMP-Northwest’s Convocation ceremony. An AOA board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Becher serves as Director of Osteopathic Medical Education at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is also chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and a professor at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and an adjunct professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Erik Szeto, DO, will give the keynote speech for the White Coat Ceremony. Dr. Szeto is a staunch supporter of COMP-Northwest, where a lecture hall is named after the family. As a family practice physician at the Division Medical Clinic in Portland, Dr. Szeto serves on several professional and community boards. He is the Chairman of the Board of both the Asian-American Coalition of Oregon and the Multnomah County Asian Advisory Board, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Oregon Primary Care. In 1983, Dr. Szeto founded what is now the Asian Health & Service Center, and currently serves as the Chairman of its Board of Directors.
COMP-Northwest received 3,715 applications for the class of 2019 and interviewed 356 potential students for the 108 spots. The class is comprised of 58 men and 50 women with an average age of 26. Of the students, 99 have bachelor degrees, seven have master degrees, and two have doctoral degrees.
Of the 108 medical students who comprise the class of 2019:
• 31 students attended high school in Oregon
• 32 students come from a hometown with a population less than 20,000
• 21 students attended universities in Oregon
• 32 students are from Oregon and 22 are from Washington
Together with the main campus in Pomona, Calif., WesternU will welcome more than 1,100 new students to the beginning of their health professions careers at Convocation and White Coat Ceremonies between the two states.
Convocation marks WesternU’s annual opening of the academic year, and the White Coat Ceremony symbolizes students’ entry into the health professions. WesternU Founding President Philip Pumerantz, PhD, will preside over his final Convocation ceremonies in Lebanon and Pomona. Dr. Pumerantz will retire Sept. 8, 2015, 38 years after opening WesternU’s founding college, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific.
In addressing incoming students, Dr. Pumerantz said, “Hippocrates told us long ago that, ‘Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.’ I submit to you that nowhere is this more true than at WesternU, where compassion and caring for others are as much a part of this curriculum as anatomy and neuroscience.
“This is my final Convocation and White Coat Ceremony as President of our University. I am especially grateful to be joining you on this new journey, as I will begin a new one of my own later this year as President Emeritus. Regardless of my role, however, I will be here for you – you can be sure.”
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About Western University of Health Sciences
Western University of Health Sciences (www.westernu.edu), located in Pomona, Calif. and Lebanon, Oregon, is an independent nonprofit health professions university, conferring degrees in biomedical sciences, dental medicine, health sciences, medical sciences, nursing, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine. WesternU is home to the Patient Care Center, where the best in collaborative health care services is offered. The Chronicle of Higher Education named WesternU a Great College to Work For in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
