ASU osteopathic school gets new dean
by January 24, 2017 7:44 am 366 views
The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine has appointed a new dean at its Arkansas State University campus. Dr. Shane Speights, who’d previously served as the associate dean of clinical affairs on the campus, will replace the school’s first dean, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee.
“Shane is the ideal choice to lead our Arkansas campus,” Ross-Lee said. “He is an experienced primary care practitioner, educator, and administrator. Moreover, he is a lifelong Arkansas resident who understands the health indicators of the Delta Region.”
The new dean will provide leadership, student and community outreach, curriculum development, and other services. He will also help to develop undergraduate and graduate medical study programs.
Speights received his medical degree from the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Kansas, according to NYIT. He is board certified in family medicine and completed his residency training at the University of Arkansas Medical Science Northeast Family Medicine Residency, St. Bernards Medical Center. Speights also holds a bachelor of arts in business administration from Henderson State University. Speights was instrumental in establishing NYIT at ASU, the first osteopathic medical school in the state.
The osteopathic medicine program at ASU has been approved to accept about 115 students per year and will be allowed to carry a maximum of 460 students. The partnership between ASU and NYIT began more than three years ago.
Classes are held in Wilson Hall. The building underwent an overhaul before classes started.
A second osteopathic school based in Fort Smith is complete and will open its first class in fall 2017. Work began in February 2015 on the $32.4 million facility located in the Chaffee Crossing area. The school will be housed in a three story, 102,000-square-foot building, and a fully operational osteopathic college is expected to serve about 600 students.
The ASU campus is NYIT’s second osteopathic school, according to information released by the school. The first is based in Old Westbury, New York. NYIT has a total of seven schools and colleges, and it has a student base of about 12,000 from sites around the world.
Speights, who has also worked as a family physician at St. Bernards is eager to begin his new duties as the dean.
“I look forward to championing the mission of the ASU campus started by Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, which is to educate osteopathic medical physicians in Arkansas for Arkansas,” Speights said. “The demand for better health care in Arkansas is great, especially among the disparate populations, and no single entity can overcome this challenge. Through collaborative partnerships across the educational continuum we can raise this state and region of the nation to the level of care it needs and deserves.”