DAVID MEADOWS, MBA
Vice President for Finance and Facilities/ Chief Financial Officer
DREMA HILL, PH.D.
Vice President for Community Engagement/Chief Operations Officer
JEFFREY SHAWVER, J.D.
Vice President for Legal, Governmental and External Affairs/Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel
LINDA BOYD, D.O.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean/Chief Academic Officer
MACHELLE LINSENMEYER, ED.D. Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Academic Resources
DON SMITH JOINED WVSOM AS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
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James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM's president, named Don Smith the school’s director of communications, starting Oct. 2.
Smith said he will work to draw state and national attention to WVSOM and its accomplishments.
Smith has extensive experience working with print, broadcast and online media as well as government, business and industry officials in West Virginia. Nemitz said Smith’s proven leadership skills and deep familiarity with the needs of news media make him the ideal candidate to help increase the school’s visibility.
“As director of communications, I want to add value to the excellent team of people who are making a difference in the quality of life in our state and beyond. My goal is to use my expertise, experience and connections to promote WVSOM, its students and its alumni in West Virginia and across the country,” he said.
Smith served for 10 years as executive director of the West Virginia Press Association (WVPA) following a decade of service on the organization’s board of directors. In his role as executive director, Smith restructured the WVPA, developed its legislative lobbying operation and business network, and worked with 70 newspapers to create the organization’s news network, among other achievements.
DON SMITH
Director of Communications
He will serve as the spokesperson for WVSOM, and as press secretary for WVSOM’s Office of the President. Smith also will develop, implement and coordinate communications and public relations strategies for the school and for Nemitz’s office.
Part of WVSOM’s mission is to educate physicians to serve in rural communities. According to data in the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s 2022 West Virginia Health Sciences and Rural Health Report, WVSOM produced more physicians practicing in rural areas of West Virginia than the state’s other two medical schools combined, for the classes of 2012-2017. Smith said WVSOM’s success in this area is one of the things that drew him to the school. “Having worked as a journalist across West Virginia, I see an increasing need for health care and health education in our rural communities. With that background, WVSOM’s personal and holistic approach to medicine makes sense to me,” Smith said. “As a native West Virginian, I love that WVSOM is recognized for producing graduates who practice in rural settings. Knowing our state, that’s important to me.”
WVSOM Magazine • WINTER 2024 • 41
