The 2022 commencement for the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs at PCOM Georgia will be held on Thursday, May 26 at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre.
Those who are unable to attend the event in person are invited to view the ceremony live stream, which will occur on the same date and time on PCOM Georgia's Facebook page and the College's YouTube channel.
Use #PCOMgrad to share your PCOM Georgia commencement photos, videos, memories, well wishes and celebratory moments. View our social media directory to find a listing of PCOM Georgia's social media accounts or visit our social wall to see recent posts.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine alumni Dr. Anthony J. Silvagni has been
an educator for more than 50 years. Most notably, he is the former dean of osteopathic
medicine at the Nova Southeastern University - Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic
Medicine (NSU-KPCOM), serving from 1998 to 2015. Until his retirement in April 2019,
he served as dean emeritus and director of international medicine. Earlier in his
career, Dr. Silvagni had developed the international medicine program at the college.
He established affiliations for exchange rotations with international medical universities
in Argentina, Austria, Portugal and Slovakia.
Prior to serving as dean, Dr. Silvagni held the positions of professor of family medicine and professor of public health, in addition to clinical professor of pharmacy practice in the college of pharmacy.
He holds a BS degree in pharmacy, an MSC degree with three majors including pharmacokinetics at Purdue University, finishing with hospital pharmacy and administration, and later a PharmD degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. He earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree in 1982 from PCOM, where he was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2007. He is board certified in family medicine.
Dr. Silvagni is a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and a Fellow of the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education. Among his numerous professional affiliations, he was elected chair of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Board of Deans in 2010 and served for two years. In addition, he was the chair of the Council of Florida Medical School Deans for eight years and is the past president of the Florida Society of the American College of Family Physicians.
From 2008 through 2016, Dr. Silvagni served as a member of the board of directors of Friends of WLRN, an affiliate of national Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System. In 2010, he received the Golden Baton Award from the Symphony of the Americas Society. He recently served on Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, based in Tallahassee, Florida, and served as a board of trustees’ member for the United States Pharmacopeia organization, a nongovernmental, public standards-setting authority for prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other healthcare products manufactured or sold in the United States. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, Florida.
Dr. Silvagni is the recipient of many awards from academic, scientific and professional organizations. He was selected as a Harvard Macy Foundation Education Scholar in 1997 and was named one of the Ten Leading Men in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in 2004 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Other accolades bestowed on Dr. Silvagni include the Humanitarian Award by the Florida Grand Opera Society, the Physician Recognition Award from the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine, and the President’s Award from the Broward County Osteopathic Medical Association.
He believes his most significant honors are a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, in which he was awarded honorary lifetime membership, the Physician of the Year Award from the Florida Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and the NSU Academic Dean of the Year Award. Due to his interest in international medicine, he was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Scholarship and was selected by Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, to lecture and share his knowledge in global medicine, osteopathic medicine, public health, contemporary medical education, pharmacokinetics. and therapeutics.
While serving at the university, he was awarded Comenius University’s Commemorative Medal for Professional and Academic Contribution by the Slovak Republic Scientific Council. Until his retirement, he continued working with the US Embassy, WHO and Comenius University initiating a public health program and other programs in the Slovak Republic.
With a distinguished career in medicine and medical education, Walter C. Ehrenfeuchter,
DO '79, FAAO, served students and patients as a faculty member at Philadelphia College
of Osteopathic Medicine for a total of 40 years. But, before being employed at the
college, he was affiliated with PCOM as a student, intern and resident.
A 1975 graduate of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Dr. Ehrenfeuchter, affectionately known as Dr. E, earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from PCOM in 1979, completing an internship at the Hospital of PCOM, and then served as the first resident in the history of the osteopathic manipulative medicine profession in 1980.
He was a professor and chair of the PCOM Georgia Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine for 16 years, retiring in June 2021. Prior to establishing the department in Georgia, he rose through the ranks at PCOM to the position of professor and vice chair of the OMM Department where he worked for 17 years, having started as an instructor. He was also the medical director of the Philadelphia Center for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine for seven years.
Dr. Ehrenfeuchter received the 2021 Fellow of American Academy of Osteopathy Distinguished Service Award just prior to his retirement from the college. The award is presented annually to one recipient by the Committee on Fellowship of the American Academy of Osteopathy. Dr. Ehrenfeuchter was honored at the Fellows dinner during the academy’s Convocation in March. His name and award date were engraved on the FAAO Distinguished Service perpetual plaque, which is on display in the AAO office.
Dr. E achieved the status of Fellow of the AAO in 1990 and was board certified the same year. He was elected to the Board of Governors in 1995 and became a member of the Committee on Fellowship in 2012, where he continues to serve. He has also been a member of the AAO’s Education Committee, chairing the academy’s convention program in 1993 and leading a number of muscle energy technique CME programs in the following decade.
From 1996 to 1999, Dr. E was a member of the American Osteopathic Board of Special Proficiency in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, serving as vice-chair for two years. In 1999, the specialty board was reconstituted as the American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine where he served as vice-chair from 1999 to 2006 and chair from 2006 to 2008.
Dr. E was the PCOM Student American Academy of Osteopathy chapter advisor from 1981 to 1998 and assisted in the founding of the PCOM Georgia chapter in 2005, serving as chapter advisor until 2014. He served as the PCOM representative to the Educational Council on Osteopathic Principles from 1981 to 1997, and as the representative from PCOM Georgia from 2005 to 2021.
At ECOP, he served as chair of the Glossary Committee from 2009 to 2015. As the ECOP core curriculum project evolved into a textbook, Dr. E served as the author for six chapters of Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine, the standard text for teaching the osteopathic profession, now in its fourth edition.
He has authored numerous articles and delivered a wide variety of lectures and workshops in the United States, Germany and Japan on many topics including osteopathic principles, principles of osteopathic manipulative techniques, biomechanics, disorders of the axial skeleton, disorders of the appendicular skeleton, osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine, and an osteopathic approach to patients with systemic disorders. In addition, Dr. Ehrenfeuchter serves as a member of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners.
Dr. E notes that his career move to the Suwanee area was the first time in his life that he had lived outside of Philadelphia. He said, “In addition to the professional opportunities afforded me, the move also resulted in my meeting my wife, Julie, and 14 of the happiest years of my life.” Coming full circle, he noted that Julie grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania, so he did meet and marry a Philly girl, but in the South!
For questions regarding the commencement ceremony, contact Ashley Jones at ashleyjo@pcom.edu.
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