At the WVSOM Holiday Kickoff on Nov. 30, the campus community gathered for run and refreshments. President James Nemitz, Ph.D, talks with, from left, Leslie Bicksler, MWS, vice president of human resources, and Jeff Dowdy, assistant director of campus services.

At the WVSOM Holiday Kickoff on Nov. 30 part of the fun was roasting marshmallows your way. President James Nemitz, Ph.D, and campus service worker Gina Griffin check out the toasting.

WVSOM students received honors for their poster presentations during the 31st Annual West Virginia Rural Health Conference at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling on Nov. 15-17. President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., joins third-year student Madison Robinson at her poster.

WVSOM students received honors for their poster presentations during the 31st Annual West Virginia Rural Health Conference at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling on Nov. 15-17.
President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., joins third-year students Porter Green, Jason Mitton, and Ryan Relyea at their poster.

WVSOM students are putting up two angel trees on campus to allow classmates to pick a name and provide a gift for a local child at Christmas. In the student center, from left, Alexandra Crawford, a second-year from Virginia Beach, Va.; Jaclyn Buttafuoco, a second-year from Chicago, Ill.; and Madison Dale, a second-year from Washington, Mich., decorate the tree.

President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., center, recognizes two WVSOM staff members who have earned honors from medical associations. Drema Hill, Ph.D., WVSOM’s vice president for community engagement and chief operations officer, earned national recognition at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting and expo on Nov. 14 in Atlanta, Ga. She received the APHA Health Administration Section Excellence in Health Administration Award for 2023. Mark Waddell, D.O., earned state honors as the West Virginia Rural Health Association's 2023 Outstanding Rural Health Provider. He receiving the honor during a Nov. 16 luncheon at the 31st annual WVRHA conference at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va. Waddell is the school’s global health coordinator and an associate professor with the clinical sciences faculty.

WVSOM's Christopher Pankey, Ph.D., who is an assistant professor of physiology in the WVSOM’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, was one of 10 West Virginia professionals named to West Virginia Executive magazine’s “Young Guns” list. Pankey received recognition from the “Young Guns’ magazine at a reception on Nov. 14, 2023, at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston, W.Va. The Young Guns program recognizes people 43 years old or younger that make a difference in communities and the business world in the Mountain State. Pankey, center, was joined by WVSOM President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., Pankey's wife, Megan, his mother, Cherratina Pankey, and Dr. Jacob Neumann, acting chair, WVSOM Department of Biomedical Sciences.

WVSOM President James Nemitz welcomed guests to the Small Communities Big Solutions Conference on the WVSOM campus in Lewisburg on Nov. 9. Later that day, attendees heard a legislative preview from the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and House Minority Leader Delegate Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell. Bowles Rice Attorney Richie Heath moderated the panel, titled Anticipating Policy Priorities. Among the topics discussed were the need for childcare to help increase workforce participation, plans for economic development, providing pathways to education and training for more West Virginians, reviewing the funding formula for higher education and drafting a budget.

On Nov. 8, the Small Communities Big Solutions Conference, held on the campus of WVSOM, hosted its Presidents Panel - Aligning Higher Education for the Workforce of Tomorrow: Strategies and Partnerships for Economic Growth.
The panel was moderating by Bill Bissett, State Director, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s Office, and includes the following panelists:

President Ericke Cage, West Virginia State University;
President Casey Sacks, BridgeValley Community and Technical College;
President Bonny Copenhaver, New River Community and Technical College;
President James Nemitz, West Virginia School of Osteopathy Medicine;
President Brad Smith, Marshall University;
President Kendra Boggess, Concord University;
President Ramon Stuart, WVU Tech.