TRANSITION OF LEADERSHIP
PAST PCOM CHAIRMAN JOHN P. KEARNEY’S LEGACY by David McKay Wilson
The recipient of the O.J. Snyder Memorial Award reflects on his late son, his PCOM family and the College’s solid financial position.
John P. Kearney’s ties to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine date back to the late 1990s, when his eldest son, JD, was enrolled as a student. While JD’s dream was to become an osteopathic physician, his life was tragically taken in 1999 during a sightseeing trip in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona. JD lost his footing as he clambered down a cliff to help a fellow classmate who had stumbled. His friend miraculously survived the incident, but JD died of a head injury sustained in the fall. The death of Mr. Kearney’s son immediately brought out the best in PCOM as the College community rallied
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PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
around the Kearney family in their profound sorrow. The Kearneys responded in kind, devoting themselves to honoring their son’s memory by establishing a scholarship program. And Mr. Kearney would later join the PCOM Board of Trustees (2002), selflessly serving at the helm from 2014 until his retirement in 2021. “Right from the start, PCOM was family,” says Mr. Kearney. “Family provides a safe place, a source of strength, stability, togetherness. It is the same with PCOM. The College has been and always will be family.”
