The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) officially celebrated the grand opening of the school’s new Student Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 26.
WVSOM leaders and special guests including WVSVOM Board of Governors, Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester, political delegates and Sen. Joe Manchin had the honor of cutting the giant green ribbon in front of WVSOM students, faculty, staff and alumni.
WVSOM President Michael Adelman, D.O., said that the celebration culminates years of work to provide a space completely devoted to enhancing the student experience.
“At WVSOM we’re all about our students and this building is dedicated to them and to all of our alumni who came before them,” Adelman said to the crowd. “It’s taken four years from concept to completion, and I really can’t wait for everyone to see the outcome.”
Manchin referred to WVSOM’s excellence in providing health care to the residents in the state – a testament to the osteopathic vision the founders had more than four decades ago.
“This is the shining star of West Virginia as far as health care delivery,” he said. “I’m so appreciative of what the osteopathic school does for the state of West Virginia – giving us more health care in rural West Virginia than any other institution. This (Student Center) makes this a complete campus now and you all should be extremely proud.”
Tours of the facility were offered immediately after the ceremony. Students didn’t waste any time getting familiar with the new space that was built for them. A small group of students had already racked balls at the pool table.
Second-year student William Paster said it is nice to see the building come to fruition after so many years. He remembers the construction of the Student Center when he was interviewing for medical school.
“I’m glad that this will free up my study spot in the library. There really wasn’t any place for students to hang out or sit around and now we have that,” he said. “It feels homey.”
The Student Center will offer a full-service café featuring breakfast and lunch and a two-story campus store. There is a recreation center that includes pool tables and Ping-Pong. The center also includes a multimedia conference hall with a full stage that will provide opportunities for WVSOM meetings, ceremonies and celebrations. The Student Center will also provide space for student government offices, the student mailboxes as well as open and quiet study areas.