Why Humanism?
“To preserve our humanistic tradition, we need to be in an ongoing process of reflection. We should study and identify ways to instill this philosophy into all our educational processes and into the lives of each member of the WesternU family. It is my conviction that if our students are immersed in a culture of humanistic caregiving, they will spend their careers deeply involved in the welfare of their patients.”
Philip Pumerantz, PhD
Founding President, Western University of Health Sciences
“Our Humanistic Tradition,”
Humanism in the Health Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 1, Winter 1996
In 1996 Founding President, Philip Pumerantz, PhD, gathered a committee of students, faculty, administrators, staff and board members to explore ways of encouraging and integrating humanistic principles into the environment and academic programs at WesternU, creating The Humanism and Diversity Committee. As part of this committee, a second-year COMP student, Yolanda Suarez, DO ’99, suggested creating a magazine. With the enthusiastic support of the committee, and newly appointed faculty advisor, Dr. Nadir Khan, Suarez became the first editor-in-chief of the magazine along with editor Edward Deng, PharmD ’00. A financial gift from Dr. Maria Simms, a prominent Los Angeles business woman and physician, allowed the first issue of Humanism in the Health Sciences magazine to be published November of 1996.
Each year, a new interprofessional group of student editors announces the theme, sets deadlines, solicits submissions, and edits the magazine. Over the last 24 years, the magazine has won 8 awards.
In 2013, a generous gift from Dr. Suarez created the Yolanda B. Suarez, DO, Class of 1999, Humanism in the Health Sciences Journal Endowment. Gifts to this endowment will ensure the continued publication of this award-winning magazine. To give a gift to this fund, please visit https://alumnifriends.westernu.edu/.
In 1986, a local newspaper editor and friend of Dr. Pumerantz, Joseph Gendron, established an endowment that provided a scholarship to the student editor of the WesternU yearbook. WesternU stopped producing an annual yearbook in 2015. In 2019, Mr. Gendron’s son, Paul, agreed to reallocate that money as a scholarship for the student editor-in-chief of Humanism in the Health Sciences magazine. The editor-in-chief of the 2020 issue was the first scholarship recipient of the Joseph and Dorothy Gendron Journalism Award.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
District VII Awards of Excellence
2016 – Bronze Award: Annual Magazines for the 2015 issue “Cultivating Identity”
2015 – Bronze Award: Annual Magazines for the 2014 issue “Pulse of Life”
2013 – Gold Award: Communications & Marketing Programs, Internal Audience Periodicals for the 2012 issue “A Journey”
2012 – Gold Award: Communications & Marketing Programs, Internal Audience Periodicals for the 2011 issue “Expanding Horizons”
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
Excellence in Communications Awards
2015 – Second Place: Best Magazine for the 2014 issue “Pulse of Life”
2010 – Second Place: Best one-of-a-kind or Special Publication for the 2009 issue “Change, Making it Happen”
2009 – Second Place: Best one-of-a-kind or Special Publication for the 2008 issue “Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going”
2005 – First Place: Best Magazine for the 2004 issue “Excellence, Humanism, Motivation”
Humanism in the Health Sciences Magazine
More Information
We encourage submissions from our whole WesternU community: current and prospective students, faculty, staff, administration, preceptors, advisory council members, donors, alumni, Health Career Ladder students and their parents, and all other interested friends and associates of WesternU.
Gifts to the Yolanda B. Suarez, DO, Humanism Journal Endowment will ensure the continued publication of this award-winning magazine and support scholarships for the student editors.