Leading with Focus and Vision

Bret Ripley, D.O., FACOFP, FPLI, has worn many hats in his career. On Jan. 1, he put on a new one – as dean of the University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM).

Named chair of Des Moines University’s family and internal medicine department in 2013, he stepped up to become interim COM dean after the resignation of Dean J.D. Polk, D.O., in 2015. He did so again last fall after the departure of Dean Gregory Christiansen, D.O.

“Our faculty, staff, students and I have come to greatly value his wisdom and willingness to manage the college while also planning for its future.”

Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D.

“Dr. Ripley has a remarkable ability to lead with vision, management skills and compassionate collegiality,” says DMU President Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D. “Our faculty, staff, students and I have come to value his wisdom and willingness to manage the college while also planning for its future.”

A Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, Ripley is a 2001 graduate of A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he completed a fellowship in osteopathic manual medicine. He then completed a dually accredited family practice residency at United Health Services in Johnson City, NY. After three years in rural practice in Kentucky, he served as osteopathic residency director and osteopathic director of medical education at the Shenandoah Valley family practice residency in Front Royal, VA. In 2011, he added the job of chief academic officer at the Appalachian Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute in Pikeville, KY.

A former engineer and physicist in the defense industry, Ripley says he’s excited about the high quality of the college, its faculty and students as well as the opportunity to serve as dean.

“To me, leadership is finding the vision of a group and helping it attain that vision,” he says. “Management is the day-to-day operations, the budget and the strategic plan. But defining that plan and getting people to buy into the vision comprise effective leadership. I see serving as dean as a combination of both skill sets.”