Dear Health Professions students,

Welcome back! Hopefully you took some time to connect with family and friends over the summer and enjoyed some relaxation before returning to Mizzou.

As we start the new school year, I want to introduce myself.  My name is Donal Buckner, and I am the coordinator of student access and scholars initiatives for the School of Health Professions. I have been with Mizzou for a little over six years, but this will be my ninth school year in higher education. My wife and I live in Columbia, and we have two beautiful children: Jaxson and Kinslee. We are proud Mizzou alumni. I hope that you are as excited as I am to begin this fantastic voyage!

In my role, I want to help build a community, develop relationships and develop a deep sense of belonging to support Health Professions students as you embark on this exciting and, at times, overwhelming journey. Over the next few months, I will be coordinating and collaborating on workshops, programs and mentoring opportunities for various student populations within the School of Health Professions. I continue to be impressed by Health Professions students’ passion and hard work over these last couple of months.

Congratulations on your achievements thus far, and I look forward to meeting many of you over the next couple of weeks.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or just want to stop by and chat. My office is located in 121 Lewis Hall.

Best of luck this semester!

MIZ!

Donal Buckner, EdS
Coordinator of Student Access and Scholars Initiatives