News Byte: Site Dean of NYITCOM-Arkansas Named Chair-Elect of AACOM

Shane Speights, D.O., site dean of NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM-Arkansas), was recently named chair-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) executive board.

Speights will serve a two-year term in the position and then chair the board for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years.

“I’m honored to be selected for this role, and I’m committed to working exhaustively to help grow and support osteopathic medical education,” Speights said.

AACOM is an organization that leads and advocates for the full continuum of osteopathic medical education to improve the health of the public. It was founded in 1898 to support and assist the nation’s osteopathic medical schools. Today, the organization represents all 38 colleges of osteopathic medicine, including NYITCOM-Arkansas.

Osteopathic medical schools currently educate nearly 34,000 future physicians—25 percent of all medical students in the United States—at 60 teaching locations in 34 states, as well as osteopathic graduate medical education professionals and trainees at medical centers, hospitals, clinics, and health systems across the country.

Speights, a founding faculty member of NYITCOM-Arkansas, has served as the site dean of the Jonesboro-based medical school since 2017. He was previously the associate dean of academic affairs and moved into his current role shortly after the opening of the Jonesboro campus, which operates out of Arkansas State University’s Wilson Hall. 

In addition to leading NYITCOM-Arkansas, Speights serves as the medical director for the City of Jonesboro and as the county health officer for Craighead County.