ELIZABETHTOWN – There’s no place like home.

Jerry M. Wallace, Ed.D., Campbell University Chancellor and a former Elizabethtown pastor, will return to his old stomping grounds this week to help launch a new medical student training program at Bladen County Hospital.

The training is part of Campbell University’s new osteopathic medicine program named in Wallace’s honor. Third-year students enrolled in the program must complete two years of rotations within a hospital setting before graduating from medical school.

Wallace and other Campbell University officials will meet with Bladen County Hospital staff on Wednesday to discuss the program’s launch.

“I’m so excited,” Wallace said, “to be able to come back to a community I know so well and love.”

The Rockingham native served 15 years as pastor at Elizabethtown Baptist Church before embarking on a 45-year educational career with Campbell University. He served 11 years as university president before stepping down last year to become the school’s chancellor.

Wallace was pivotal in helping launch Campbell University’s osteopathic medical school. It is the state’s first new medical school in 35 years.