Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences honored four faculty who have reached emeriti status at the 2025 Commencement Ceremony. Dedicating years to bettering the university and their respective fields, these individuals have made a lasting impact on students, faculty and staff.
Traci Bush, M.S.P.T.’95, OTR/L, D.P.T., D.H.S.
Traci Bush has been an associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at DMU. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a Master of Physical Therapy degree from DMU, a Doctor of Health Sciences degree from the University of Indianapolis and a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from the University of New England. After receiving her physical therapy degree in 1995, she became the manager of the Des Moines University Clinic — Physical Therapy and became a part-time faculty member in 1996. Bush was appointed the director of the physical therapy program in 2005 and became department chair in 2012. She retired in June 2025.
Licensed in both physical therapy and occupational therapy, Bush specializes in occupational medicine, upper extremity orthopedics and geriatrics. Her research focuses on shoulder orthopedics and physical therapist education, with numerous publications and presentations in journals and conferences. Bush has shown her support for academic excellence by dedicating her time to university and professional committees that enhance institutional growth and industry standards.
Beyond her academic and clinical contributions, Bush has been actively involved in professional organizations such as the American Physical Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Higher Learning Commission. She is committed to philanthropy and established an endowed fund for the physical therapy department at DMU to support future initiatives within the program. Her dedication to education and service has been recognized with dozens of awards, including the 2013 DMU College of Health Sciences Alumna of the Year, the 2008 DMU Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2024 DMU Outstanding Service Award.
Simon Geletta, Ph.D.
Simon Geletta was a professor in the Department of Public Health at DMU where he had been a faculty member since 2000. He holds degrees in sociology and anthropology from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, as well as advanced degrees from the University of Missouri and Boston University. With an emphasis in demography and population studies, Geletta has brought a multidisciplinary approach to public health education and research. His research has focused on the quality of health outcome measures and the comparative analysis of community-based or population-based chronic disease management programs.
Geletta has held various academic and industry positions and has contributed to public health education and data-driven health care initiatives. His extensive experience and research have advanced research and policy development in public health and published in many academic journals. Geletta is an active member of the Polk County Board of Health, providing expertise to the county health department’s efforts against food insecurity, facilitating essential data collection and analysis to measure and mitigate its prevalence.
Geletta’s dedication and contributions to furthering DMU’s mission have been recognized with three DMU Faculty of the Year awards. In December 2019, Geletta was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Program.
Drew Lewis, D.O.’03, FAAO, FNAOME, FAOCPMR, FAAPMR
Drew Lewis is a distinguished board-certified clinician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation and interventional approaches for pain and injury. He served patients at the Des Moines University Clinic with an emphasis on osteopathic manual medicine treatments and was a professor at DMU before retiring in 2023.
Lewis received his undergraduate degree from the University of Puget Sound and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from DMU. He completed an internship at Downey Regional Medical Center and his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of California, Davis, where he served as chief resident. Lewis completed his interventional pain fellowship at NorCal Pain Treatment Center.
In addition to his clinical and teaching responsibilities, Lewis has contributed to the advancement of osteopathic medicine by publishing his research and involvement in strategic initiatives. He has served the profession as a subject matter expert for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and as the national representative to the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists and a representative of AOBPMR. He continues to serve as a board member for the American Osteopathic Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
While at DMU he collaborated with numerous students on research publications and was a mentor to hundreds of clerkship students and 66 OMM scholars (formerly known as fellows). His dedication to patient care and medical education has been recognized with several awards including the 2014 Physician of the Year Award from the Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association, the 2017 DMU Teacher of the Year award and the 2020 national American Osteopathic Association Mentor of the Year.
Cynthia Utley, P.T., D.P.T.
Cynthia Utley received her Master of Physical Therapy degree from the Mayo School of Health-Related Sciences and her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of New England. Before retiring at the end of 2024, Utley served as the director of clinical education and associate professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at DMU since 2009. Her research interests include assessment in clinical education, cultural competency and pre-admission criteria predictive of success in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Her areas of expertise and teaching are acute care practice, practice management and clinical documentation of client management.
Utley, a dedicated researcher and educator, has published her work in many journals and presented at numerous conferences. She has served on university and professional committees committed to bettering the institution and the field. In addition to supporting students, Utley has taught peers and colleagues in the Post-Professional Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
She has been active in the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Education as an abstract reviewer for the Combined Sections Meeting and Education Leadership Conference, member and chair of the Nominating Committee and co-chair for the ELC program committee. Utley is a trainer for APTA’s Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program Level I. Before entering academia, Utley practiced for 18 years in various patient care settings and was in various administrative roles in outpatient and inpatient settings. She continued to practice acute care throughout her career at DMU.