Kansas City University (KCU) celebrated its 2026 commencement season with ceremonies held in Joplin and Kansas City, Missouri, honoring 476 graduates as they take the next step in their professional journeys in health care.
The College of Osteopathic Medicine conferred 408 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degrees. This year’s concurrent-degree graduates included 28 Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees through a partnership with the Helzberg School of Management at Rockhurst University, 23 Master of Arts in Bioethics (MA) degrees through the KCU program and eight Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees through the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The College of Biosciences conferred 12 Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) degrees and 56 Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MS) degrees.
R. Shawn Martin, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians, delivered the keynote address and brings a national perspective on strengthening primary care and the health care workforce. He is shaped by both his leadership in advancing family medicine and his personal connection to the profession through his family’s practice as osteopathic physicians. “You will be busy. You will be distracted. You will have competing priorities pulling at your attention. But the person sitting in front of you, whether they are scared, uncertain, in pain or searching for reassurance needs you to be present. They need your focus. They need your compassion. They need your humanity,” Martin said. “Because in that moment, to them, you are not part of a system. You are not just a title. You are their physician. And they are counting on you.”
KCU President and CEO Marc B. Hahn, DO, emphasized the importance of grounding health care in compassion and a commitment that extends beyond medicine alone. “My hope is that the path you begin today is guided by the values that define KCU: Excellence in your work, equity in your approach and empathy in every interaction so that you not only contribute to health care and science but also help shape a more compassionate and connected world,” Hahn said.
As a first-generation student, Nathan Ng will begin an internal medicine residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, driven by a commitment to expand access to care and serving patients through more complex longitudinal care. “What really drives me is seeing how difficult it can be for people to get the care they need, because everybody deserves health care and don’t always have access to it,” he said. “If I can be part of providing that, I’m part of the solution.”
Fifty percent of KCU College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates will enter primary care specialties nationwide, including internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics. This trend advances the University’s dedication to serving communities in need and addressing ongoing shortages in the U.S. health care system. Other placements include anesthesiology, orthopedic and general surgery, neurology, otolaryngology, diagnostic radiology, aerospace medicine, ophthalmology and dermatology. Graduates have secured placements at prestigious institutions including Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins. A full list of residency placements can be viewed here.
This year marks the 110th anniversary of KCU, a testament to more than a century of educating health care leaders. The university also recognized continued growth across its academic programs, including the graduation of the Clinical Psychology program’s fourth class and the 21st anniversary of the College of Biosciences.
Many MS graduates will continue their education by pursuing doctoral and other professional programs, including at KCU.
PsyD graduates completed their pre-doctoral internships in a wide range of specialties in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Virginia and North Dakota. It remains the only PsyD program in Kansas and Missouri.
As graduates prepare to enter residencies, fellowships and advanced academic programs across the country, they join a KCU alumni base of over 12,000 with an annual economic impact of more than $33.3 billion. KCU alumni support more than 175,000 jobs and generate an estimated $13.1 billion in health care cost savings.
To learn more about the economic impact KCU generates both regionally and nationally, click here.
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