Lynn Brumm and William Strampel, dean of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.Lynn Brumm was a reluctant academic who made a world of difference. Now, in his honor his family will be making a world of difference for osteopathic students.
A native Pennsylvanian, Navy veteran and devoted family physician, he was in private practice in Hermitage, Pennsylvania for almost 24 years when MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s then associate dean Phil Greenman recruited him to join the faculty and become chairperson for what was then the Department of Family Medicine.
“Phil Greenman tried to recruit him for four years to come to MSU,” said Brumm’s daughter Nancy Boote. “He finally said yes. He was a private family physician who went all the way to being a chair —there was nothing in between.”
He spent 20 years on the faculty, and more years mentoring students, participating in research and providing OMM to athletes.
Brumm recently turned 90 and celebrated with a gathering in Fee Hall that included his family, friends, former students, colleagues and patients. During the festivities MSUCOM dean William Strampel announced the establishment of the Lynn F. Brumm Endowed Scholarship.
The scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time in 2016, will be for a student who is planning a career in family medicine and has an interest in OMM.
Though himself a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Brumm’s heart is with MSU.
“My dad was so excited when we moved here and was telling us about the Big Ten,” Boote said. “My mom and I didn’t know what that was.”
Brumm has treated numerous elite athletes at the college and professional levels. It was his care for former MSU and NHL hockey standout Jason Woolley that made such an impression that Woolley and his wife Danica that they were inspired to make a significant gift to MSUCOM to establish the OMM lab. Caring for Spartan athletes is just one aspect of Brumm’s love for MSU. His dedication to osteopathic medical students remains as strong today as it was when he arrived in 1977.
Near the end of his birthday celebration, three first-year MSUCOM students walked into the party. They had heard about his reputation as a teacher and wanted a chance to meet him. He spent time talking with them and asking questions well past the event’s conclusion.
“He bleeds green and white,” Boote said. “His mother and father were from Michigan and his father was a 1912 grad of MAC. MSU was in his genes. He’s a huge fan, but more importantly what MSU has done for him and what he’s done for MSU.”
To support the Lynn F. Brumm Endowment Scholarship, contact Chris Surian, College of Osteopathic Medicine director of development at surianc@msu.edu or call (517) 355-8355.
Reprinted with permission from Empower Extraordinary: The Campaign for Michigan State University