For more information contact: Boonshoft School of Medicine, Judi Engle, Office of Public Relations, (937) 775-2951

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4 , 2003

Wright State University School of Medicine Presents the
Doctor of Medicine Degree to 82 New Physicians

DAYTON, OHIO—Eighty-two graduating students from Wright State University School of Medicine’s class of 2003 will soon be making a difference in their new role as twenty-first century physicians. On June 6, 2003, at 6:30 p.m., tomorrow’s doctors receive the Doctor of Medicine degree in the beautiful Schuster Performing Arts Center in downtown Dayton.

Robert Wicks, Psy.D., professor and chair of the Graduate Programs in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola College in Maryland will challenge the class in the address, “Riding the Dragon—Remaining Passionate in the Field of Medicine.” Wicks is an international lecturer who has worked in Cambodia with English-speaking professionals who helped the Khmer people rebuild their nation after years of torture and terror. Wicks also helped with the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during its civil war. He is the publisher of more than 40 books, the editor of Illumination Books, and was the 2002 Visiting Scholar at Stritch Medical College in Chicago. His areas of expertise include the prevention of secondary stress disorders and the integration of psychology and spirituality.

Wright State School of Medicine was established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1973. The school's charter class of medical students began studies in 1976 and graduated in 1980. Since then, 1,900 M.D.'s have graduated from Wright State.

The School of Medicine includes basic science departments located on the Wright State University main campus and clinical departments based in teaching hospitals throughout the Dayton community. In addition to 290 full-time faculty, Wright State's voluntary faculty include more than 1,300 physicians in private practice throughout the community.

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