Receive white coats in special ceremony
The class of 2009 at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine includes 17 minority students who began medical training in August. Dr. Wesley G. McNeese, executive assistant to the dean for diversity at SIU, said the increase in minority student enrollment is the result of focused recruitment strategies, increased advocacy by the school’s diversity office and networking opportunities with local minority physicians.
“The students in the first year class represent the highest number of minorities we have ever had in a single class at this school. It’s historic, and we’ve taken to ensure a diverse student population,” McNeese said.
The 75 students who make up the 2009 class began the school year by participating in a white coat ceremony, which welcomes students into the medical profession.
Minority members of the SIU medical school class of 2009 are: Mark Adams, Sofya Asfaw, Junaia Carter, Aisha Covington, Jennifer Creamer, Melissa Dawson, Mardo del Castillo, Nicole Dunlap, Omonigbo Ekhomu, Idelle M. Fraser, Eric Garcia, Tiffany Morris, Kanayo Okafor, Arica Pittman, Audrey L. Tanksley, Elizabeth M. Cabrera Valencia and Tabatha Wells.
Both Okafor and Pittman are from St. Louis. Okafor is the son of Dr. Nathaniel and Ifeyinwa Okafor of Nigeria, and Pittman is the daughter of Jerome and Angela Pittman of Florissant.
During the white coat ceremony in Carbondale, the students received their first white coats from Dr. Erik Constance, associate dean of student affairs. Constance is a 1988 graduate of the institution. The students also received a pin emblazoned with the words “compassion, respect and integrity” from the SIU Foundation.
Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost of the school and a 1978 graduate, welcomed the students to the SIU medical program. He said the event was designed to establish a “psychological contract of professionalism and empathy” in medicine.
The class of 2009 consists of 34 men and 41 women. Currently a total of 39 minority students are enrolled in the SIU medical school. Minorities, as determined by the American Association of Medical Colleges, are the racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.
The SIU School of Medicine is located in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois. Since 1975, 1,986 physicians including 156 minorities have earned SIU medical degrees.
