western university of health sciences western university of health sciences western university of health sciences (westernu) is a private medical school and health sciences university with its main campus in pomona, california, with an additional campus in lebanon, oregon. with an enrollment of 3,788 students (2021–22), westernu offers more than twenty academic programs in multiple colleges. western university of health sciencesformer namescollege of osteopathic medicine of the pacificmottoeducare, sanare, coniunctim (latin)motto in englishto teach, to heal, togethertypeprivate research universityestablished1977 (1977)endowment$39.6 millionpresidentrobin farias-eisneracademic staff332 full-time1,200 adjunct professionalsadministrative staff700students3,788locationpomona, california, united states34.058°n 117.747°w﻿ / 34.058; -117.747campusurban, 22 acres (pomona)rural, 50 acres (lebanon)colours burgundy white gold, gray, black (accent)websitewesternu.edu under the banner of westernu health, the university operates a variety of patient care facilities in california and oregon. the pomona and portland (oregon) campuses both include a medical center, dental center, eye care institute, pharmacy, and travel health center. westernu-pomona also is home to the pet health center, which provides veterinary services. dental services are offered at the rancho mirage campus, while a los angeles campus provides optometry services. several nonprofit organizations are based at the westernu pomona campus, including the harris family center for disability and health policy. the center for oral health, moved from the bay area to the westernu pomona campus in 2012. in 2015, the southern california medical museum moved to the pomona campus. founded in 1977, the first program at westernu was its medical school, the college of osteopathic medicine of the pacific (comp). since that time, the college of veterinary medicine opened in 2003, and colleges of dental medicine, optometry, and podiatric medicine opened in 2009. in 2011, the university opened an additional campus in lebanon, oregon, the college of osteopathic medicine of the pacific - northwest (comp-northwest). in 2015, the university's founding president, philip pumerantz, retired. all of the programs at westernu have professional accreditation and the university is accredited by the western association of schools and colleges. the medical school (comp) is also accredited by the american osteopathic association's commission on osteopathic college accreditation. history the health education center building on the pomona campus, which houses the college osteopathic of medicine of the pacific. what is now westernu first opened in 1977 as the college of osteopathic medicine of the pacific (comp), offering the doctor of osteopathic medicine degree (d.o.). this was the first medical school in california to open after a complicated era in the relations of allopathic and osteopathic medicine, notably when the california college of osteopathic physicians and surgeons - only the second do school in america - briefly became independent as an m.d. granting school before soon evolving into the university of california, irvine school of medicine. upon its foundation in 1977, the westernu college of osteopathic medicine was the only osteopathic medical school west of the rocky mountains. in 1986, the college began offering a second degree, the master of science in health professions education. four years later in 1990, the physician assistant program opened, which in 2000 grew into a master's level program. in 1992, the physical therapy program opened. in 1996, the western association of schools and colleges granted accreditation as a full and constituent university, and later that year, what had begun as the college of osteopathic medicine of the pacific was renamed the "western university of health sciences." 1996 also saw the foundation of the westernu college of pharmacy. in 1998, the university established the harris family center for disability and health policy. in 1997, the college of graduate nursing was established with the first online family nurse practitioner program in california, followed by an entry-level master's degree for students with a ba/bs degree who wanted to become a nurse. ethan allen park, with the pet health center in the background. thereafter, the veterinary college was founded after some initial hesitancy by the american veterinary medical association's council on education, the college of veterinary medicine opened in 1998 as the first new veterinary medical school in the united states since 1983. classes began in 2003, and the college earned full accreditation in 2010. the college was the first veterinary medical school in the united states to appoint a woman as dean. in 2008, the university opened the banfield pet hospital to the public. in 2014, westernu assumed sole operation and management of the pet hospital. in 2009, three new colleges opened at westernu: podiatric medicine, optometry, and dentistry. the following year, in 2010, the patient care center opened, offering medical, dental, optometric, podiatric and pharmacy services to the community. in 2011, western university of health sciences opened a new medical school campus in lebanon, oregon called the college of osteopathic medicine of the pacific northwest. in 2012, the center for oral health affiliated with westernu and moved from the bay area of california to the westernu campus. the center for oral health is an independent non-profit organization, which focuses on improving oral health. in january 2015, westernu began collaborating with colleagues in scotland affiliated with the uk national health service, assisting in the development of a standardized platform for diabetes care called the scottish care information diabetes collaboration. in october 2015, westernu opened a virtual reality learning center to augment the teaching of anatomy across all colleges. faculty-led virtual reality technology is used by the schools of dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacy and health professions. in 2015, the southern california medical museum opened on the westernu campus. the same year (2015), pumerantz retired after 38 years as founding president. he was succeeded in 2016 by daniel r. wilson. in november 2017, westernu opened an eye care institute in los angeles, which specializes in low-vision rehabilitation. in 2019, the university received the eighth most applications of any medical school in the united states. in 2019, u.s. news & world report ranked it 13th among all us medical schools for the percentage of medical graduates going into primary care residencies. the university is the fourth-largest employer in pomona, with more than 1,000 employees. on july 8, 2020 faculty members voted "no confidence" in the university's president and asked him to step down. they cited a "lack of transparent communication between faculty members and wilson, his executive leadership team and the board of trustees" as the reasons for their vote. the university's board of trustees formed an ad hoc committee to these concerns. on october 20, 2020 the board of trustees announced that president wilson will officially step down july 1, 2021. the board of trustees recognized the president's accomplishments over the past four years and both agreed that "now is an appropriate time to begin the process of identifying a new leader for westernu." faculty welcomed the announcement but are awaiting a promised full report on the investigation's findings. in a second communication on october 21, 2020 the board of trustees announced the formation of a presidential transition communications committee to plan for a successful transition in leadership while addressing shared governance, transparency, accountability, and communication. in december 2020, westernu purchased a building in lebanon, oregon to house a doctor of physical therapy program. the first class of physical therapy students began courses in july 2021. westernu administered covid-19 vaccinations at an immunization center located on its pomona campus. sylvia manning became the interim president of the university under the auspices of the registry for college and university presidents, which facilitates interim appointments for senior higher education leaders. the search for a regularly appointed president of westernu concluded with the selection of robin farias-eisner, who is the third president of the university effective march 1, 2022. academics collegefoundedaccreditation westernu1996western association of schools and colleges health sciences1996american physical therapy association arc-pa dental medicine2009american dental association graduate nursing1997commission on collegiate nursing education ccne optometry2009american optometric association osteopathic medicine - california1977american osteopathic association coca osteopathic medicine - oregon2011american osteopathic association coca pharmacy1996accreditation council for pharmacy education podiatric medicine2009american podiatric medical association veterinary medicine2003american veterinary medical association through its nine colleges, westernu offers 21 academic programs, each on a semester schedule. all programs at westernu are post-baccalaureate and focused on a health sciences profession. all are accredited by the respective national accrediting body. the university itself is accredited by the western association of schools and colleges. doctoral degrees include the doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of dental medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of veterinary medicine, doctor of pharmacy, doctor of nursing practice, doctor of physical therapy, and doctor of podiatric medicine. several master of science (ms) programs are also offered in pharmaceutical sciences, health sciences, physician assistant studies, nursing, biomedical sciences, and medical sciences. a master of science in health professions education is offered to provide educational skills to health professionals interested in teaching. two distance education programs are offered: the doctor of nursing practice (dnp) and master of science nursing (msn). all other programs are traditional on-campus programs. further colleges and programs are in consideration. according to u.s. news & world report best colleges ranking, of the 188 medical schools evaluated, western university of health sciences is ranked as the 93rd-123rd best medical school in the united states, in terms of both research and primary care. interprofessional education westernu operates an interprofessional education (ipe) program, involving all nine of its colleges. the program began in 2007 and the first phase was implemented later that year. the program goals are to improve understanding of other health professions and to provide and promote a team approach to patient-centered care and health care management, leading to improved patient care. as a part of the interprofessional education program, students meet in small groups with a faculty facilitator and discuss non-clinical aspects of symptom presentation in complex cases, including interprofessional knowledge and awareness, financial or ethical challenges and communication barriers. augmentation of clinical ipe rotations with grand rounds and journal clubs is ongoing. research westernu conducts research in an array of areas in basic, translational, and clinical sciences. three primary research strengths include: neurobiology, molecular / metabolic diseases, and infectious disease / immunology. specific neurobiology subjects include: alzheimer's disease, central nervous system diseases, genetic disorders, environmental pathologies, and stem cell therapy. specific molecular and metabolic disease subjects include: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. research on infections and immunology includes tuberculosis, mad cow disease, avian flu, and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. research is funded by the national institute of health, the onesight foundation, the potts foundation, american cancer society, american heart association, the american lung association, and the california institute for regenerative medicine. patient care and education patient care center (pomona campus) services include medical care, podiatry, dentistry, pharmacy, and optometry. western university of health sciences provides patient care in several locations in california and oregon. westernu opened its first patient care center, a family practice clinic, in 1984. the pomona patient care center opened in may 2010, and serves more than 10,000 patients per year. the patient care center includes a medical center, foot & ankle center, eye care center, dental center and pharmacy. the center is also home to an accredited diabetes education center. westernu is a member of the association of academic health centers. the university also offers post-graduate residency training in medicine in association with partners throughout the western states. the university operates the harris family center for disability and health policy, and provides consultation and training to organizations, companies, and hospitals to help them meet the needs of disabled individuals. campus pomona campus the parking structure at e 2nd and s towne avenue. the main campus of westernu is located in downtown pomona, california. upon the school's founding, a portion of the campus was extensively renovated from an outdoor shopping mall. since that time, several buildings have been acquired and built, including a patient care center, a pet hospital, classrooms, and research facilities. there are two parks located on the urban campus. the pomona campus consists of 19 major buildings spanning some seven city blocks along the main "esplanade," which amounts to a total 22 acres (8.9 ha). the northeastern corner of campus has the health education center, the patient care center, and a large parking structure. these westernu buildings opened in 2010, as a part of a $100 million expansion project. the health education center is a 180,000-square-foot teaching and research facility that also houses the colleges of medical, dentistry, podiatry and optometry. the fourth floor of the