BUIES CREEK, North Carolina – Dr. Brian Kessler, associate dean for clinical affairs, has been named the next dean of Lincoln-Memorial University-Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Kessler will assume his new position January 1, 2016.
Among the founding administration of Campbell’s medical school, Dr. Kessler has served as an associate dean since arriving at CUSOM in 2011. In this role, he has overseen the Office of Clinical Affairs establishing affiliate training sites in five regions of North Carolina where Campbell’s 3rd and 4th year medical students complete their undergraduate medical education. Additionally, he has been involved in the development of the school’s osteopathic training programs, international medical missions, and community outreach. He has also served as a health care provider to the Campbell community at the University Health Center and at the student run free Community Care Clinic.
“Dr. Kessler brings a wealth of experience in academic medical education to build on the foundation built by LMU-DCOM’s Founding Dean, Dr. Ray Stowers,” said Dr. John M. Kauffman, Jr., dean of Campbell’s medical school. “As Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Dr. Kessler has been a foundational member of the medical school leadership team. He will be greatly missed by students, faculty and staff. We wish him the very best in his new position.”
“I am humbled and delighted to have been selected to be a part of the LMU family. LMU-DCOM has been led by a very accomplished leader in Dr. Ray Stowers, and it is well positioned for the future,” Kessler said. “I am looking forward to starting my next chapter at LMU-DCOM, but my decision was not easy. Campbell is an outstanding organization, and it is hard to leave something you cherish so deeply.”
Like CUSOM, LMU-DCOM is located in a rural community with a mission to serve rural and underserved communities. The DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, located on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, is an integral part of LMU’s values-based learning community and is dedicated to preparing the next generation of osteopathic physicians to provide health care in the often underserved region of Appalachia and beyond.
Prior to his arrival at Campbell, Dr. Kessler served as chief academic officer at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital. He is a graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a board certified family physician who has been in family practice since 2001.
An American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Health Policy Fellow, Kessler is also a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP). He is on the Board of Governors for the ACOFP and is a member of the AOA, the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association, the North Carolina Society of ACOFP, the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators and is past Chair of the AOA Council on Postdoctoral Training. He currently serves as an executive board member of the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association and holds licenses to practice medicine in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Campbell family, students, faculty and staff, for allowing me to be a part of an outstanding organization,” said Kessler. “I am privileged to have worked with so many wonderful people and to be mentored by many who I value as friends. Working with the entire CUSOM faculty and staff and representing Campbell University has been a true pleasure, and I appreciate the opportunity given to me to haven been a small part of our students’ success. I am humbled by the words of encouragement from my colleagues and friends, and I look forward to a continued relationship with Campbell University.”