A spoonful of sugar: Lori Haxton reflects on her career and relentless pursuit of helping others
Posted: September 29, 2025
As a second grader, Lori Haxton, MA, dreamed of growing up to be like Mary Poppins – someone who helped others and made the world a little brighter wherever she went. And for the past 36 years at ATSU, she did just that.
Lori has touched thousands of students’ lives in her roles at the University, beginning in 1988 as director of admissions & enrollment services when ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine was still a single-school institution. Since that time and as the University has grown, she has been involved in every aspect of admissions and enrollment, including recruiting and selecting students for Missouri-based programs and establishing new programs across ATSU’s campuses. As she progressed in her career, she eventually led the Student Affairs department for the entire university, including the areas of admissions, financial services, registrar, learning resources, counseling, student wellness, student housing, and student life. Retiring in the position of vice chancellor of student affairs, her years of oversight, guidance, and wisdom have shaped the educational experiences and careers of all who enter ATSU’s academic programs.
“It was never a job,” Lori says. “It was a lifestyle – even better than a career.”
Originally from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, Lori first came to Kirksville, Missouri, as a graduate student at Truman State University. That’s where she earned her master of arts degree with plans to become a high school geography teacher. That’s also where she met fellow graduate student Jason Haxton, MA, director of ATSU’s Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, who would become her husband, travel companion, and best friend.
The couple got married, moved to Arizona, and worked in undergraduate residential life. Lori also spent time working as a substitute teacher on the Navajo Reservation. A few years later, when Truman State University offered positions to both of them, they jumped at the chance to come back to Kirksville.
Shortly after returning to Kirksville, Lori was recruited to ATSU to develop its admissions program. She remembers the campus atmosphere as always being very friendly and welcoming and deeply committed to the osteopathic philosophy. When she joined ATSU, that collaborative, passionate environment shaped her own professional philosophy. She observed and learned from the doctors of osteopathic medicine around her, including the revered Max Gutensohn, DO, ’41, who taught her to listen to her applicants, just like he taught students to listen to their patients.
After a few years working in Admissions, Lori came to a turning point in her career. She had been visiting a private undergraduate university to serve as a panelist for its premed visit days, and she was the only person representing osteopathic medicine among several medical schools. That particular university was highly competitive and had a strong premed program. After one of the events, the university president offered her a job to lead their admissions program.
She was taken aback, although intrigued by the opportunity. Alone, on her long drive home, she had time to think it through and came to a realization.
“I just said, I can’t leave. I love my job. I can’t leave osteopathic medicine. I can’t leave ATSU. I can’t leave … I don’t want to,” she says. “At that point, I realized my heart was with the institution here.”
Throughout the years, Lori’s fondest memories have come from her engagement with students. She has listened to their stories, their aspirations, and their reasons for wanting to care for others. As she transitioned from Admissions to Student Affairs, she was able to spend more time with enrolled students, supporting them through the ups and downs of life and keeping them whole while keeping them on track to meet their goals.
“They’ve shared so much with me, their thoughts, their lives, their goals – sometimes their kids,” Lori says. “They’ve also shared their weaknesses. Some have shared their vulnerabilities with me, which for people who are Type A and very perfect, that’s very difficult. Yet it’s important to respect they are human, too, and to respect them for their vulnerabilities.”
Lori is extremely proud of her department’s efforts over the past 13 years to reduce the stigma of asking and going for behavioral health help. Those efforts are now visible through various initiatives, including the green bandanas students wear signifying Mental Health First Aid ambassadors.
“These are highly qualified, highly motivated people who sometimes need some extra elements in their life to get them to their goals,” Lori says. “We also instill in them that they can ask for help, they aren’t alone.”
Across the decades of challenges and achievements, Lori learned the importance of ethics, grit, and being open and trustworthy. Every decision and endeavor was for the benefit of students. She made it her priority to truly know people and call them by name. She wanted students to have someone at ATSU who knew them, who would be there for them, and who would remember them after they graduated.
“I’ve always tried to learn people’s names and know who they are, even beyond their name,” Lori says. “Hopefully that is something I’ve contributed, along with my staff, for them to feel they are part of this institution.”
Even for alumni who graduated years ago, Lori still remembers their names and something about them. To this day, she recalls some alumni whom she advocated for with the admissions committee or in her write-up because they were “diamonds in the rough.” She says they may have been a little shaky in their interviews, but she had a gut feeling they were going to make fantastic osteopathic physicians.
“There are a few of them that I thank for giving me the opportunity to be in their lifetime,” she says. “What if we wouldn’t have accepted them? They are spectacular!”
Lori’s influence extends beyond students and alumni to her colleagues across the University, as well as to the larger healthcare community. Her years of dedication and service to the University and the osteopathic profession earned her many honors, including Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association (KOAA) Honorary Membership, Missouri campus Distinguished Service Award, KOAA Distinguished Service Award, Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (MAOPS) Service Award, KOAA Living Tribute Award, George Windsor Award, MAOPS’ Wilbur T. Hill, DO, FACOFP dist., Distinguished Service Award, and most recently, serving as grand marshal for ATSU-KCOM’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony. Above all, Lori believes her greatest reward was being in a work environment where she was able to make life better for people doing amazing things.
“I got to meet interesting people. I got to help people when they were down, when they were ecstatic,” Lori says. “I got to do that with employees, with our students and alumni.
“When I look back, it has been a spoonful of sugar.”