Liberty appoints dean for College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dr. Joseph R. Johnson was appointed dean of Liberty University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, effective July 1. Johnson had been serving as interim dean since December 2020.

“Prior to Dr. Johnson’s arrival, Liberty’s leadership set a goal to take LUCOM as a well-established osteopathic medical college, both in mission and outreach efforts, to the next level of medical education with more faculty physicians and clinical partners, as well as increase the number of clinical experiences and medical education programs for our students,” said Liberty Provost and Chief Academic Officer Scott Hicks in a statement.

Johnson has more than 26 years of experience in medicine. He earned his Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine degree from the National College of Chiropractic Medicine in Lombard, Illinois, and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the University of Health Sciences – College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri.

While at Oklahoma State University, Johnson developed the state’s Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Care Outcomes) initiative, an effort that joined medical education with care management to provide specialty care to rural and underserved communities.

In a statement, Johnson said he is committed to growing LUCOM into a “top five osteopathic medical school with increased academic opportunities and clinical rotations that are meaningful — rotations that bring our students in front of residency directors and residencies at hospitals, which is the next step of what medical students are looking for.”

With more than 100,000 students enrolled, most of them online, Liberty is Virginia’s largest school by enrollment and is the nation’s second-largest online university, behind the University of Phoenix. Located in Lynchburg, where it was founded in 1971 by the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., Liberty is one of the world’s largest Christian universities.