WesternU College of Podiatric Medicine student Scott Atkinson is the first recipient of the San Diego Podiatry Medical Society Endowed Scholarship 2025.

Atkinson has taken on several leadership roles at WesternU, including serving as Treasurer of the Student Government Association, Vice President of the Student Chapter of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, and Student Ambassador for prospective podiatry students. He has also been involved in community service, conducting foot and ankle health screenings at the Special Olympics and local health fairs.

Pictured: Scott Atkinson and CPM Assistant Dean Jacqueline Truong, DPM, MPH.

Western University of Health Sciences College of Optometry Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs Raymond Maeda, OD, FAAO, has been named a recipient of the 2025 Acta Non Verba Award, presented by the Lestonnac Free Clinic.

The official list of awardees was recently released online, recognizing outstanding individuals who embody the clinic’s mission of service. The Acta Non Verba Award celebrates leaders who lead by example, demonstrating compassion, dedication, and a deep commitment to improving access to health care for underserved communities.

“Dr. Maeda’s commitment to his patients, students, and community reflects the very essence of this award,” said WesternU College of Optometry Founding Dean Elizabeth Hoppe, OD, MPH, DrPH. “We are proud to see his contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”

Read the full story: WesternU College of Optometry’s Dr. Raymond Maeda to receive 2025 Acta Non Verba Award | WesternU News

We are proud to announce that a new manuscript titled “Assessing Professionalism in Dental Education: A Multi-Domain Approach Across Classroom-Based, Preclinical, Clinical, and Remediation Curricula” by College of Dental Medicine Assistant Dean and Associate Professor Dalia Seleem, DDS, PhD, was recently published in the Journal of Dental Education.

This publication is the result of a national collaboration with faculty from institutions across the country and includes contributions from CDM student Travis Truong, DMD Class of 2027, as part of the ADEA Emerging Leaders Program in 2024-25.

Citation: D. Seleem, T. Truong, A. Poly, S. S. Toth, M. Luna, and L. Lopez, “Assessing Professionalism in Dental Education: A Multi-Domain Approach Across Classroom-Based, Preclinical, Clinical, and Remediation Curricula.” Journal of Dental Education (2025): https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.70027

This work presents a comprehensive framework for assessing professionalism—one of dentistry’s core values—across four key domains of dental education: classroom-based learning, preclinical training, clinical practice, and remediation programs. It proposes standardized tools such as the RISE framework, multi-source feedback, and digital portfolios to improve consistency and depth in evaluating professional behavior.

The manuscript offers timely and practical strategies that are expected to influence national standards in dental education, helping shape the development of ethical, competent, and resilient dental professionals.

Extremitas: Journal of Lower Limb Medicine is Western University of Health Sciences’ student-run, peer-reviewed publication dedicated to advancing knowledge in lower extremity medicine. The journal’s mission is to provide a platform for students to share scholarly work that contributes to the understanding, treatment, and advancement of lower limb health. We welcome a wide range of submissions, including original research, case reports, literature reviews, and topics spanning population-based medicine, public health, surgical interventions, conservative treatments, sports medicine, dermatopathologies, coagulopathies, and more. All students are welcome to submit their research! The only requirement is that the work must focus on the lower limb.

We are currently accepting submissions for this year’s edition. Topic submissions are due Sept. 26, 2025, and first drafts will be due Oct. 23, 2025.

Link to last year's Extremitas Edition: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:d67395d8-c75e-49d3-96e5-c158f8a278b2

Link to submit topic submissions: https://forms.gle/mJzbbg7sscwakk1i8

For questions: extremitasjournal@westernu.edu

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Dear WesternU Community,

We are excited to remind you about our upcoming training that is designed to equip supervisors with essential knowledge and skills related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Classifications, Wage and Hour Policy, and the navigation of ADP. Through interactive discussions and real-world scenarios, this training will empower supervisors to foster a compliant and productive workplace while enhancing their leadership capabilities.

When: 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 1

Hosted by: Human Resources and Payroll

Register for Online Training Here: https://training.westernu.edu/facultytrg/?course=20036

As a reminder, when signing into the training registration site, the username will only be the first part of your WesternU email, everything before the “@” symbol.

We look forward to seeing you there.