After his three years as chair of the DMU Board of Trustees, Larry J. Baker, D.O.’77, FACEP, turned the reins over to Steve Morain, J.D., at the board meeting in September. Baker, who remains a board member, is the emergency medical director of UnityPoint Health in Des Moines. Morain is of counsel to the Davis Brown Law Firm, Des Moines, in its business division. His practice encompasses business organization and transaction, lobbying and governmental relations, finance, securities and insurance.
Morain rejoined Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts P.C. in 2009 after retiring with more than 30 years of service with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and its affiliated insurance and financial service companies.
In other actions during the September board meeting, Michael Witte, D.O.’77, was elected vice chair. He is a pulmonologist and critical care physician with CIC Associates in Des Moines. Elected treasurer was Jay Christensen, M.H.A.’01, chief executive officer of Mahaska Health Partnership in Oskaloosa, IA. Mary Radia, D.O.’81, a rheumatologist with the Iowa Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center in Urbandale, IA, became board secretary.
A new member of the DMU Board of Trustees is Dan Murray, an entrepreneur and founder of Workiva, a business reporting software company based in Ames, IA. A pioneer in cloud computing and three-dimensional engineering visualization, he also has served as an adviser to numerous companies.
Gilbert Bucholz, D.O.’58, retired from the board after 39 years of service and was appointed emeritus trustee. He served as board chair from 2001 to 2004. A retired Ohio radiologist, he was elected county coroner of Ottawa County, OH, in 2000 and served for three years.
Bucholz is past president of the American Osteopathic Foundation, the American Osteopathic Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. He also served as president of the Northwest Ohio Radiologists and member of the American Osteopathic College of Radiology Board of Trustees. He is a past clinical professor of radiology at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, now DMU, and the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
