MURFREESBORO – Colonel Van Coots, Commander of the US Army’s Walter Reed Healthcare System in Washington, DC, will be the special guest of Chowan University for the official dedication of the new Reed Hall on Chowan’s historic campus during an 11:30 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, December 2.

Named in honor of the physician of yellow fever fame, Chowan University’s new Reed Hall celebrates Walter Reed’s boyhood time in Murfreesboro, NC where he met his wife-to-be before he entered the Army’s medical field. Walter Reed’s boyhood home still stands on Murfreesboro’s Main Street facing the home of his wife, Emilie Lawrence.

“In tribute to Walter Reed’s medical accomplishments, ties to Murfreesboro, and promotion of education, Chowan University dedicates this facility as Reed Hall,” said Chowan President Dr. M. Christopher White. “Chowan University is very proud to have a senior officer like Col. Coots representing our nation’s most famous medical institution to help with this special dedication ceremony.”

Col. Coots’ awards and honors include the Legion of Merit, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Order of Military Medical Merit, among several other impressive national recognitions. Coots is also a Knight of the Order of the White Greyhound, a benevolent order of chivalry based in France, and has been inducted into the Bessarabian Order as recognition for his benevolent service projects with the orphans of the Republic of Moldova. He has also been recognized by the Pearl S. Buck Society for his work in the development of a healthcare program for the Amerasian orphans of Korea.

The Walter Reed Healthcare System serves more than 150,000 beneficiaries in the nation’s capital, and consists of the Walter Reed Army Hospital, the DeWitt Army Hospital at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade in Maryland, and the DiLorenzo TRICARE Health Clinic at the Pentagon. Additionally, the system has primary care clinics which support several installations in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The new Reed Hall at Chowan University will be the central home of the growing Sports Studies and Physical Education Department. With its majors in Exercise Science, Sport Management and Teacher Education, all available with a Coaching Minor as well, the SSPE Department will enjoy its new home directly adjacent to Chowan’s Jenkins Wellness Center on Lakeview Drive. Reed Hall will also house the Upward Bound Program at Chowan University.

For more information about this event, contact Director of Donor Relations Kay Thomas at thomak@chowan.edu or (252) 398-6436.