William Carey's College of Osteopathic Medicine building reopens

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The devastating EF-3 tornado that hit William Carey University in January damaged 49 of its 50 buildings, including the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

But, now, the building is up and running again.

"The leadership of the university, Dr. Tommy King and the Board of Trustees led an effort to get us back in here within seven months. And to be built back and ready to go at this point is just truly amazing. We're actually better off than we were before the tornado," said Dr. James Turner, Dean of College of Osteopathic Medicine.

After the tornado happened, students and faculty members were unsure what was going to happen.

"We really didn't know where we were going to be. And we were so grateful that USM had opened their doors, and we were able to resume classes, which we did within a week. But the whole time we were there, we were eager to get back home," said director of clinical simulation, Dr. Teresa Rogers.

The students are glad to be back on campus.

"That's one thing we were looking forward to was just being back home. There is still a lot of construction and everything is still happening, but we are adjusting. We're doing well. It's not too much of a problem. We're just glad to be back at our own school, back at our own home, having our own place to study," said medical student, Manjot Mashiana.

The first day of Fall classes will begin on August 28.