BUIES CREEK, North Carolina – Dr. William F. Morris retired effective August 31 from his position as founding chair of osteopathic manipulative medicine at CUSOM.
Dr. Morris came to Campbell in the fall of 2012 – a year before the inaugural class was slated to arrive – and began developing the osteopathic manipulative medicine curriculum for the new school.
“When I spoke to Dr. Morris on the phone about the position, his passion for medicine, osteopathic medicine, and for teaching were immediately apparent,” said Dr. John Kauffman, founding dean of Campbell’s medical school. “We are indebted to him – he was willing to come here and build us a fantastic curriculum.”
Before joining the Campbell medical faculty, Dr. Morris was Course Director at A T Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, founding Chair of the Department of Osteopathic Principles & Practice at TouroCOM in Harlem, New York City, and Chair of the Department of Osteopathic Principles & Practice at University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City. He has also been a major contributor and primary driver behind the publication of the “Glossary of Osteopathic Terminology” and “A Teaching Manual for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine”.
“Dr. Morris created musculoskeletal motion graphics for teaching that were purchased by AACOM and have been used by most osteopathic programs nationwide,” said Tyler Cymet, DO, FACP, FACOFP, Associate Vice President for Medical Education and Chief of Clinical Education at AACOM. “William is a role model – not only is he a nice guy with a good soul, skills and professional background, but he is also a role model in the way he cares for the people he works with – patients as well as the physicians he is mentoring. I am proud to have him as a mentor and colleague.”
Campbell faculty, staff, and students gathered in June for a reception honoring Dr. Morris and his legacy in the profession and at CUSOM.
“It’s been a pleasure watching him thoughtfully and deliberately design the OMM curriculum,” shared Dr. Charlotte Paolini, chair of family medicine, at the reception. “From a bunch of blank blocks on a dry erase board in 2012 to teaching in the OMM lab, his work in designing the curriculum and lab has been nothing short of inspirational.”
Phillip Deal, student body president, shared “I heard about Dr. Morris before I met him.”
“He is a man who wears his passion on his sleeve – for his profession, for us students, and for the combination of those two elements through a dedication to educating the next generations of physicians. We are blessed to have seen that passion and, for lack of a better word, to have been infected by it every day.”
Phillip is part of a small group of students who developed the student-run free clinic at Campbell, and Dr. Morris helped mentor the students through the development process.
“He not only provided encouragement,” said Deal. “But also solutions, ideas, materials, and continued advocacy that helped to carry us forward to eventually opening the doors to the free clinic earlier this year.”
“The clinic seeks to provide care to those who need it most; the underserved, uninsured, with many patients having gone more than a decade since seeing a physician…it is one of the very few osteopathic free clinics in this country, and a reminder of the words that Dr. Morris often says, “You can always do something.”
The free clinic and osteopathic manipulative medicine curriculum at Campbell will carry Dr. Morris’s legacy into the next generation of physicians.
“The curriculum is commendation winning, comprehensive, logical, relevant, appropriate, useful, helpful, and osteopathicful,” said Paolini. “Dr. William F. Morris – a true scholar and inspiration to us all.”