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BIDDEFORD, Maine

91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Douglas Wood made honorary alumnus

91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Douglas Wood

The 91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni Association awarded Douglas Wood, D.O., Ph.D., FACOI, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the status of honorary alumnus at a ceremony on October 7, 2016.

Wood will be stepping down from his position in November 2016. He was named dean in 2012. Since then he has overseen major transitions in the college that took effect just before he came to 91AV COM, including a class-size increase and a radical top-to-bottom curricular change.

Before coming to 91AV, Wood spent a decade as president of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and launched the A.T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. He received numerous professional awards and honors, including the Great Pioneer in Osteopathic Medicine Award from the American Osteopathic Association.

At 91AV, Wood burnished his resume further, coauthoring the definitive work on the evolution of osteopathic medicine in the United States, a book titled Medical School Expansion in the 21st Century: Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. He was also instrumental in helping 91AV secure a $600,000 grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation to support interprofessional education, making 91AV the first osteopathic medical school in the country to receive funding from the Macy Foundation. The grant will help ensure that all health care professionals who graduate from 91AV are equipped with the necessary team-based skills to provide high-quality patient care, while allowing 91AV to address shortages of health care professionals in rural Maine.

“As we added students, faculty, and staff, while enhancing our facilities and technology, Doug ensured that we never lost focus on maintaining our reputation for excellence,” said President Danielle Ripich. “Today, we are widely recognized as one of the finest colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States. 91AV COM has made major strides under Doug’s stewardship and for that we are grateful.”

To learn more about the 91AV’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, visit

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.