My Grandfather taught me that courage was not the lack of fear, rather the willingness to “saddle up” anyway.
When I first came to WCUCOM, it was with a very specific mission in mind. The college had suffered some setbacks and there was a need for middle management. At that time, I joined a committed team of students, faculty, and administration. Together we put our shoulders to wheel and began a process of love and dedication to overcome many challenges.
Fast forward 7 years, to when the sun rose over William Carey University on the morning of January 21, 2017, and I was surveying the devastation wrought by fifteen minutes of a tornado having passed over our campus just hours before. At that moment we were certain none of our students had been physically harmed, but there were still many more questions than answers. In this setting, I am not ashamed to admit that, for a few seconds, fear and grief were beginning to win out over courage. I was able to stop, seek the guidance of my higher power, and remembered the words: “courage is not the lack of fear, rather the willingness to “saddle up” anyway.”
At that moment, I believed we would not only be back, but would be stronger and better than ever before. As I began to say this, even standing in rubble, I think many around me thought I was insane; however, eighteen months and 120 million dollars later, William Carey University and the College of Osteopathic Medicine are not only back but better than ever.
Through adversity this institution has matured and grown. We were able to expand our foot print and enlarge the completely destroyed Ross Anatomy Lab into a state of the art, spacious facility that is as functional as any in the country. We were able to redesign our Innovative Learning Center and add much needed examination rooms. We also upgraded several areas of infrastructure and replaced equipment that was well into its life span.
But our most precious resource and the reason our institution exists, our students, have excelled through this time of adversity. Our national board scores, both first time pass rates and overall scores, are the highest we have ever achieved and are meeting or exceeding national averages. Our placement of graduates into Graduate Medical Education exceeds the national average for all medical schools. And we have continued to meet our mission. A recent US News and World Report recognized WCUCOM for being number 3 in the nation for percentage of graduates entering primary care. Those students who had the courage to enter and return to a school that had no functional building of its own at the time, in the middle of recruiting season, have at the time of this writing exceeded our expectations as a cohort.
I am indebted to all who are reading this for the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful organization. I want to take this opportunity to welcome all our family back, especially the students. And to the Class of 2022, welcome to something special, William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine!
Sincerely,
James M. Turner, DO, MPH, FACOFP, FACOEP
Dean, William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine
