Maryland University of Integrative Health celebrates Class of 2017 master’s degree and first-ever doctoral degree students; Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen gives commencement speech

Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) held its commencement for the Class of 2017 on Monday, June 5, 2017. In addition to celebrating the students who earned their graduate degrees, MUIH conferred its first-ever doctoral degrees in the fields of acupuncture, Oriental medicine and clinical nutrition. The university’s Doctor of Clinical Nutrition program is the only integrative and functional nutrition-oriented program of its kind in the U.S.

Dr. Leana Wen, the Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore, delivered the commencement address and urged students to continue to advance their practice beyond the limits of today’s healthcare system: “So much of integrative medicine is about exactly this: understanding the context of people’s lives and addressing the whole person.”

In sharing some of her own experience with patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds, Dr. Wen reminded the Class of 2017: “Along with the privilege of being part of this rewarding and prestigious profession comes the responsibility to tackle the most difficult challenges.”

Dr. Wen’s remarks followed those of Dr. Steven Combs, who presided over his first commencement as MUIH’s President and CEO. Reflecting on what he termed “the triple aim of healthcare,” Dr. Combs underscored the importance of improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing costs. He sent the graduates forth, stating: “I encourage you to bring your highest self into your work every day and to live into your role as an agent of change.”

The MUIH Class of 2017 included 284 master’s degree students, 72 doctoral degree students, and 105 post-baccalaureate and post-master’s certificate students. The newly awarded credentials spanned fields such as yoga therapy, acupuncture, nutrition, health coaching, and health promotion, among others. As natural and what’s often dubbed “complementary health” treatments continue to gain popularity across all populations, MUIH’s program has experienced much growth in recent years. This year, MUIH recognized its largest-ever graduating class, and continues to see enrollment growth with its recent additions of online and doctoral programs.

For more information about MUIH, visit the website at www.muih.edu. For media inquiries, please contact Kristen Zatina at Profiles at kristen@profilespr.com or #www.muih.edu.

About Dr. Steven Combs

Dr. Steven Combs is the President and CEO of Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). Prior to joining MUIH, Dr. Combs served as the Executive Vice President and Provost at Drury University. He was also the founding Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and the founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hawaii Pacific University.

Before joining the ranks of academic administrators, Dr. Combs had a distinguished career as a faculty member. He spent twelve years at Loyola Marymount University, where he achieved the rank of full professor, eight years at Claremont McKenna College, and two years at Occidental College.

Dr. Combs holds a PhD in Communication Arts and Sciences from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis on rhetoric and public address. He completed his MA in Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, and his BA at the University of Southern California. He has received numerous teaching awards, been honored three times by Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and twice recognized in the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership.

Dr. Combs has a broad background in communication studies, has been published in top, peer-reviewed journals, and has presented scholarly papers on three continents. He is the author of The Dao of Rhetoric, the first book to systematically deal with Daoism (Taoism) from a rhetorical perspective.

About Dr. Leana Wen

Dr. Leana Wen is the Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore. An emergency physician and patient and community advocate, she leads the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), the oldest, continuously-operating health department in the United States, formed in 1793.

Under her direction, the Baltimore City Health Department leads the country in health innovations, including: B’More for Healthy Babies, a collective impact strategy resulting in a 38 percent reduction of infant mortality in just seven years; Vision for Baltimore, an initiative to provide glasses to every child who needs them; Safe Streets, a program to engage returning citizens and hospitals in treating gun violence as a contagious disease; and Healthy Baltimore 2020, a blueprint for health and well-being that enlists all sectors to achieve the ambitious goal of cutting disparities in half in ten years.

Dr. Wen received her medical training from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School. She has served as a consultant with the World Health Organization, Brookings Institution, and China Medical Board; an advisor to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Lown Institute; and as national president of the American Medical Student Association and American Academy of Emergency Medicine-Resident & Student Association. In 2005, she was appointed the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services to serve on the Council on Graduate Medical Education, an advisory commission to Congress.