WVU School of Medicine Alumni reunite for a Weekend of celebration, connection, and Mountaineer Pride

The West Virginia University School of Medicine Alumni Association welcomed M.D. graduates, their families, and friends to Morgantown on Nov. 7-8 for an alumni weekend filled with celebration, reconnection, and fall fun. Reunion celebrations were held for the M.D. classes of 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, and for the two-year school graduates.

The festivities began Friday evening at the Erickson Alumni Center with a reception, followed by the annual alumni banquet. During the banquet, the School of Medicine Alumni Association proudly presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Erin W. Pukenas, M.D., a 2003 graduate of the M.D. program.

Dr. Pukenas currently serves as associate dean for program development and strategic initiatives, vice chair and associate professor of anesthesiology at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. A two-time WVU graduate, she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors and her medical doctorate in Morgantown before completing her residency at Rutgers University’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Cooper University Hospital, where she became the first chief resident in the department of anesthesiology.

Throughout her career, Pukenas has received numerous honors, including several New Jersey Top Doctor recognitions and the New Jersey Biz 40 Under 40 Award for healthcare leadership.

“Medicine, at its core, is an act of optimism,” Pukenas said. “Every day, we walk into people’s hardest moments and choose to believe that what we do can help. We face systems stretched thin, families in crisis and colleagues at their limits, and yet, we show up. The patient who whispers, ‘Thank you for listening,’ the nurse who stays after her shift to comfort a family, a student or resident whose curiosity reignites your own purpose - those are the small moments where the light lives, and this school taught us how to see them.

"If I could sum up my takeaway from my time here, I would say, Mountaineers don’t wait for perfect conditions. Mountaineers find the good, Mountaineers meet the moment.”

First established in 1984, the Distinguished Alumnus Award honors graduates whose professional achievements and service have brought prestige to the WVU School of Medicine and contributed to the advancement of healthcare.

The weekend program ran alongside the University’s Mountaineer Week celebrations, with the Mountaineers facing the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday. The weekend concluded with a festive post-game buffet on Saturday evening, rounding out two days of fellowship.

Visit the Alumni Weekend site to learn more about the weekend.