aid in accomplishing this goal. On March 3, 2008, the college was officially established. Press conferences were held in Jackson at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Building and on the Hattiesburg campus of WCU on March 7, 2008. The President announced the establishment of the college and introduced Murphy, the founding dean. William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine was awarded provisional accreditation by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation at its meeting September 12–13, 2009. On September 13, 2009, William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine was awarded provisional accreditation status by the Council on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). In August 2010, the university welcomed its inaugural class of 110 medical students. The World Directory of Medical Schools lists the school as a US medical school along with other accredited US MD and DO programs. The William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine is the state's second medical school and the first in the region to focus on osteopathic medicine and grant the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. The medical college graduated its first class in 2014. On January 21, 2017, the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine was severely damaged after being struck by a tornado, as was nearly every building on campus. School of Music and Ministry Studies The Winters School of Music is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. The music therapy program is accredited by the American Music Therapy Association. In February 2018, William Carey University became the first All-Steinway School in the state of Mississippi. Department of Theatre & Communication and Carey Dinner Theatre William Carey University's Department of Theatre & Communication began in 1915 by Kate Downs P'Pool, and has garnered a reputation for outstanding work. Since 1994, the department has become actively involved in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. In 2001, William Carey's production of And David Danced was selected for presentation at the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. In the same year, the department was honored with the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. The department has also twice taken faculty and students to Nairobi, Kenya to produce the musical Smoke on the Mountain. The department produces three productions per year, normally a drama, a children's theatre piece, and a comedy or musical. Their venue is the Joe and Virginia Tatum Theatre. Carey Dinner