Kansas City University names Sharon Gustowski, DO, MPH Kansas City campus dean - College of Osteopathic Medicine

Kansas City University (KCU) welcomed Sharon Gustowski, DO, MPH as Kansas City campus dean - College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM). She will report to KCU Vice Provost for Medical Affairs and College of Osteopathic Medicine Executive Dean W. Joshua Cox, DO, FACOFP.

Gustowksi joins KCU from Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she was the founding chair of the osteopathic principles and practices department (OPP), beginning in 2017. She is a career medical educator and clinician and is the 2022 recipient of the AACOM Society of Medical Educators’ Innovation in Clinical Medical Education Award.

Gustowski’s primary responsibilities at KCU will include managing and directing the daily operations of the Kansas City medical school campus as well as ensuring students’ wellbeing and academic success.

“Dr. Gustowski is a dedicated leader and has been a proven innovator at each step in her career,” said Cox. “Her energy and perspective will have an immediate impact on the continued success of the Kansas City campus. Her experience in medical education combined with her deep background in osteopathic principles give her unique knowledge and skills that will serve our students well.”

“I am honored to join KCU and its rich history of excellence in medical education,” said Gutowski. “I look forward to working with KCU’s tremendous faculty and staff in preparing our students for a dynamic and rewarding calling of improving the health and well-being of patients.”

Gustowski is a graduate of the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHCS-TOM) and the School of Public Health. She completed a traditional rotating internship at Bay Area Corpus Christi Medical Center and residency training at the UNTHCS-TOM before joining the faculty at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine.

She then taught three years at UNTHSC-TCOM before returning to her native San Antonio to help found the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2014.

Dr. Gustowski is board certified in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (NMM-OMM) and is past-president of the Nevada Osteopathic Medical Association.

About Kansas City University

Kansas City University, founded in 1916, is a fully accredited, private not-for-profit health sciences university with Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Biosciences and a developing College of Dental Medicine. The College of Osteopathic Medicine is the eighth largest medical school in the U.S., the ninth most impactful medical school for primary care for the nation, the tenth most affordable of private medical colleges, and the leading producer of physicians for the State of Missouri. The College of Osteopathic Medicine has two sites strategically located on the University’s campuses in Kansas City and Joplin, Missouri, to address the growing needs of both urban and rural populations.

The University offers multiple graduate degrees; a doctor of osteopathic medicine; a doctor of psychology in clinical psychology; a master of arts in bioethics; a master of science in the biomedical sciences; a master of business administration in partnership with Rockhurst University; a new master of public health in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center; and plans to seat the first doctor of dental medicine students in 2023.