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June 1, 2022

CELEBRATING COMMENCEMENT

WITH GRATITUDE

Dear WesternU Family,

This has been a tremendous month of Commencement celebrations. It was humbling and an honor and a privilege for me to participate, for the first time, in these coveted Commencement ceremonies at WesternU. From 31 COMP graduates 40 years ago, we have grown to a total of 19,714 alumni from all Colleges. This year, our graduating class of 1,086 students was more diverse than ever. The youngest graduate was age 22 and the oldest graduate was age 57. They came from 39 U.S. states and 5 countries.

CELEBRATING AS ONE

IN IT TOGETHER

As we celebrate our graduates, we also celebrate our faculty, staff, deans, leaders, and stakeholders for nowhere is there a group more dedicated to the academic and professional success of our students. They work to ensure that our students are technically superb and expert, and are prepared to embody the art of humanism, compassion, and equity.

A special note of appreciation for those who made Commencement 2022 such wonderful events. This includes our university Commencement committee, under the leadership of Dr. Beverly Guidry for the California ceremonies and Dr. Mirabelle Fernandes Paul and the Commencement committee in Oregon.

Special thanks for the support of the special events team, the departments of IT, Facilities, Public Affairs & Marketing, and the Campus Store, and indeed, everyone who attended these events live or watched the video stream.

I am extremely proud of how our entire community rallied behind our graduates and their families on these monumental Commencement days.

Read more about Commencement:

• California
• Oregon

I would like to take a moment to honor a special group of graduates – those who answered the call to not only take care of their patients as DOs, but also to serve our country as commissioned officers in the military. I was able to personally congratulate seven COMP graduates and 17 COMP-Northwest graduates at the 2022 Armed Forces Commissioning ceremonies held May 17 in Pasadena and May 26 in Lebanon. COMP-Northwest reportedly has the largest graduating DO military class in the nation this year. I am eternally grateful for their dedication and service. 

Armed Forces Commissioning Ceremonies

“It has long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and made things happen.” 

~ Leonardo da Vinci

WESTERNU RESOLVE

MAKING IT HAPPEN

The past two years have been challenging for everyone, yet despite the challenges, the WesternU family did not allow themselves to be negatively affected, but rather rallied behind our students to ensure they persisted in their quest for higher education. You adapted, adjusted, took a deep breath, and “forged forward” not only with your teaching and your studies, but also with service to your community. The truth is that you are “doers” and have made things “happen.”

LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE

While in Lebanon, I had the pleasure to connect with members of the WesternU Board of Trustees and members of The Heatherington Foundation for Innovation and Education in Health Care Board of Directors. Together, we discussed future opportunities for WesternU students and communities in the Pacific Northwest as we envision a new college of behavioral health to be located in Lebanon.

AFTER 45 YEARS

THE MISSION ENDURES

For 45 years, the foundational tenets of the University, humanism, equity, innovation, and community engagement have always prevailed. Indeed, the robust and sustainable vision of the founders, and our founding tenets and commitment to science, compassion, and putting the student and patient first, are more important than ever, and continue to echo in the corridors of time. Our campuses, students, faculty, staff, and alumni remain united around these principles.

VISION FOR WESTERNU

OUR TIME IS NOW

My focus as your new president has been to effectively serve the constituents of our branches of WesternU government: our student body, faculty, staff, deans, administrators, and our Board of Trustees. And equally important is to serve and engage with our alumni, partners, supporters, and the Pomona and Lebanon communities. We can, and will, catapult our University to a position of prominence nationally and internationally by setting an ambitious trajectory shaped by our mission, our message, our humanism, and our history. We are a University on the rise and are aiming high. I remain humbly grateful for all your contributions to ensure our students and alumni succeed.

My very kindest regards, 

Dr. Robin Farias-Eisner

Office of the President

We inspire, in a humanistic tradition, health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that enhances and extends the quality of life in our communities.