Two Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates – Steven Pitt, 1986, and Richard Bryce, 2012, received the college’s highest alumni recognition at a brief ceremony Oct. 19 at the American Osteopathic Association’s OMED conference in Orlando, Florida.
Pitt, a nationally recognized forensic psychiatrist from Arizona, has been called upon to consult on some of the most famous criminal cases in recent history – among them the slaying of JonBenét Ramsey, the Columbine High School massacre and the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case.
He received the MSUCOM Alumni of the Year Award for his “outstanding achievements . . . his ability to translate complex issues for laypersons, and for his advocacy for mental health advances in criminal cases.”
Bryce, who has dedicated his career to offering compassion and hope to Detroit’s most vulnerable populations, works with CHASS, the Community Health and Social Services Center. He organizes 5K runs to get his patients to exercise and raise funds, works with local food systems to get them fruit and vegetables, promotes literacy among his young patients and provides clinical services for homeless persons.
He also teaches at MSUCOM at the Detroit Medical Center and is director of a family medicine residency program. He received the Dean’s Award for Meritorious Contribution for “the healing and joy he brings to so many, his dedication and caring, and his innovation and creativity.”