The words required some thought, a quick few seconds to grasp their hidden weight — “I want to encourage you to seek the value that comes from engaging opposition.”
For many, Dr. Donald E. Wesson’s powerful words will resonate forever.
On Thursday, May 8, the Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine conferred degrees on 153 new osteopathic physicians and 15 graduates of the Master of Science in Biomedical Science program during a ceremony in the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center.
Wesson, a medical doctor and professor, Internal Medicine-Nephrology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. His research over four decades has focused on kidney function and disease processes. Wesson has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, five books and 18 scholarly chapters.
“You are entering a new chapter in your career,” he told the new doctors and MSBS grads. “There will be opportunities for opposition to your ideas, your pursuits, even who you are.
“I encourage you to not avoid the opposition, but to engage in it, and engage in it creatively.”
Doing so, he said, allows you to derive value not just for yourself, but for society as a whole, creating a paradigm shift. The phrase and concept, attributed to Thomas Kuhn and his book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” refers to a fundamental change in thinking, often running contrary to the status quo.
Wesson offered examples of paradigm shifts that led to positive change, as well as other new ideas that initially met with failure.
His first reference focused on the mid-19th century, when factions from both the North and South opposed the idea of granting citizenship to freed slaves. But advocates engaged the country’s leaders and changed the idea of citizenship being limited to the privileged few but rather to the many, ultimately leading to the 14th Amendment.
The second example, also related to the period of American slavery, pointed to the dawn or public education, a right now enshrined in the N.C. Constitution. Slaves weren’t taught to read, Wesson said, and, in most states that permitted slavery, it was illegal to teach slaves to read.
Education, he said, was private and for the privileged few. The paradigm shifted and public education became an American bedrock.
“With a paradigm shift comes a challenge to the status quo,” Wesson said.
Wesson also touched on two corresponding failures, at least initially, in challenging the status quo.
Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileo recognized the sun as the center of the solar system, the earth and planet revolving around it. He challenged the 1,500-year-old dogma that the earth, not the sun, was the center of the universe.
“He ran into the establishment,” Wesson said. “Not only scientific leadership, but religious leadership and political leadership. Because of his unwavering force (toward) presenting his idea without engaging those who opposed him, he spent the rest of his life under house arrest. That knowledge, that we now take for granted … didn’t come to be accepted by scientists for another 100 years.”
Wesson talked about Henry Ford and the automobile, which replaced the horse-drawn carriage. People were reluctant to change, and in early versions of his first car Ford installed a tiller-type steering system to help people transition to the steering wheel, which he knew was the better option.
“Henry Ford was successful in quickly getting the public to accept automobiles and in moving away from horse-drawn carriages. In other words, he helped the public negotiate that paradigm shift.”
That’s my encouragement to you, Wesson told the graduates.
“When you run into opposition, and I didn’t say if you run into opposition. … Rather than trying to deflect it, my encouragement is that you creatively engage it to see what it can teach you about your pursuit, how it may compare. That will give value to you. It will lead to value for our society that will challenge the status quo. I encourage you to take the Henry Ford example to help us negotiate that paradigm shift toward improvement for our society.”
All of Campbell’s graduating DO students were placed in a residency program, where they will continue their journeys. Fifty student doctors will serve their residencies in North Carolina, and 99 will serve in the Southeast (64 percent), including 14 in Florida and South Carolina, respectively. In all, Campbell med grads will practice in 27 states.
Nationwide, the percentage of DO seniors matching rose to 92.6 percent, a record high during the single match era, according to the National Resident Matching Program. In addition, the number of U.S. DO seniors participating was a record-high 8,392, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2024.
At the close of Thursday’s ceremony, the new doctors took the Osteopathic Oath, given by Dr. Marta E. Bringhurst, assistant professor of osteopathic manipulative medicine.
Dr. Brian Kessler, dean of the medical school, told the graduates they’ve demonstrated much more than academic ability. “You’ve revealed integrity, resilience and a steadfast commitment toward becoming professionals who will lead with purpose.”
Campbell President J. Bradley Creed is retiring as university president this summer after 10 years. He is Campbell’s fifth president in the 138-year history of the university.
“I’ve done a lot of reflecting,” Creed said. “My mind often goes to the people I’ve met; I have literally met, shaken hands with … had dinner with over thousands of people from coast to coast, even around the globe. But I can tell you the most enjoyable encounters I’ve had have been with students, here on this campus.”
