PLEASE NOTE: Media are welcome to cover these events, which are open to graduates and their families and friends only, not the general public. Media are asked to remain in the audience area.
MONDAY, MAY 7
UA College of Medicine – Phoenix Commencement
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Symphony Hall
75 N. Second St., Phoenix
(Procession from the College to Symphony Hall begins at 3 p.m., led by the Phoenix Bagpipe Band; UA President Robert C. Robbins, MD, will participate in the procession and will offer remarks during commencement)
Media contact: Teresa Joseph, 602-827-2657, cell phone 503-467-8103, teresajoseph@email.arizona.edu
The UA College of Medicine – Phoenix Class of 2018 includes 81 graduates. About 40 percent will stay in Arizona for their residency training, while 52 students will train outside of the state at prestigious programs such as UCLA Medical Center, Dartmouth Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Duke University Medical Center.
Keynote speaker will be nationally recognized surgeon, clinician, medical educator and researcher Susan Pepin, MD, MPH, president and CEO of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and a leader in the field of neuro-ophthalmology and medical education.
Graduating senior Tiana Blank, who will pursue a residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, will deliver the student address.
Inspirational 2018 UA College of Medicine – Phoenix graduates include Haig Aintablian (phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/match-day-profile-haig-aintablian), Victor Arce (phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/commencement-profile-victor-arce) and Alex Geiger (phoenixmed.arizona.edu/about/news/commencement-profile-alex-geiger).
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9
UA Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs and UA College of Medicine – Tucson Biomedical Sciences Convocation
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, DuVal Auditorium
1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson
(Reception follows at about 7:30 p.m. on the plaza outside the hospital.)
Media contact: Jean Spinelli, 520-626-2531, cell phone 520-465-4193, jspinell@email.arizona.edu
This 13th annual ceremony honors 2017-2018 graduates receiving doctoral and master’s degrees from graduate programs in the biological and biomedical sciences offered by the UA Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDP) and the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
The invited speaker is Jeffrey B. Goldberg, PhD, UA acting senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, and professor, systems and industrial engineering.
Students receive a traditional “hooding” to mark the years of extraordinary effort and determination in pursuit of their graduate degrees.
The graduate programs of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson Departments of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Immunobiology and Pharmacology, and Clinical Translational Sciences will participate.
UA GIDPs participating in this year’s convocation are Applied Biosciences, Arid Lands Resource Sciences, Cancer Biology, Entomology and Insect Science, Genetics, Physiological Sciences and Statistics.
The GIDPs transcend departmental boundaries by facilitating interdisciplinary research and education, allowing the fusion of ideas, techniques and expertise from the traditional academic fields that provide for the evolution of modern and imaginative methods of research, and the creation of new fields of endeavor.
Inspiring GIDP graduates include Alexander Davan Feldman, Professional Science Master's in Applied Biosciences - Controlled Environment Agriculture Emphasis; Feldman shares his story at appliedbiosci.arizona.edu/alex-feldman-cea-story
THURSDAY, MAY 10
UA College of Nursing Convocation
2 to 4 p.m.
Centennial Hall
1020 E. University Blvd.
UA Main Campus, Tucson
Media contact: Will Holst, 520-626-2512, cell phone 520-822-6650, wholst@email.arizona.edu
Graduates will receive baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees in nursing, and faculty awards will be presented. The College will award 54 baccalaureate (Bachelor of Science in Nursing), 46 graduate (Master of Science in Nursing Clinical Systems Leadership Systems), four PhD (Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing) and 28 DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) degrees.
Established in 1957, the UA College of Nursing is among the nation’s top nursing schools. The College is recognized for excellence in educating entry and advanced practice nurse leaders to deliver comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate health care; shape health policy for individuals, families, communities and care systems; and advance nursing science through innovative research, technology and collaboration.
Inspirational 2018 UA College of Nursing graduates include Connie Tran (Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Honors student); her profile is available on the UAHS Office of Public Affairs website at “UA Health Sciences Convocations 2018: Meet Some of the Graduates.”
THURSDAY, MAY 10
UA College of Medicine – Tucson Convocation: Doctors of Medicine
7 to 8:30 p.m.
Centennial Hall
1020 E. University Blvd.
UA Main Campus, Tucson
(Light reception follows at approximately 8:30 p.m. on the lawn of the Arizona State Museum across from Centennial Hall.)
This event also will be broadcast live beginning at 7 p.m. on Facebook, facebook.com/UACOM.Tucson
Media contact: Nadia Whitehead, 520-626-9722, cell phone 915-276-6803, nwhitehead@email.arizona.edu
The ceremony includes, in order:
Procession of graduates into Centennial Hall
Welcome remarks
Remarks by 2017 Alumni of the Year
Class speaker address
Keynote address
Hooding
Recitation of the Hippocratic Oath
Closing
Recessional
Reception
The UA College of Medicine – Tucson Class of 2018 includes 114 graduates: 59 women and 55 men.
Two graduates will receive dual MD-PhD degrees (the MD-PhD Program is offered jointly by the UA College of Medicine – Tucson and the UA Graduate College). Three graduates will receive dual MD-MPH degrees (the MD-MPH Program is offered jointly by the UA Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix and the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health).
More than half of the graduates will go into primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics). More than a third will pursue residencies in Arizona.
Keynote speaker will be Fred DuVal, son of Merlin K. ‘Monte’ DuVal, the founding dean of the College of Medicine. DuVal’s address is titled, “In the Beginning…” Over the years, Fred has remained a major advocate for the college and the University of Arizona. He served on the board of University Medical Center (now Banner – University Medical Center) and as chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents. In addition, DuVal has spent more than 35 years in politics and public affairs. He served as senior staff aide to Governor Bruce Babbitt from 1980 to 1986 and as deputy assistant secretary of state from 1993 to 1996. As White House deputy assistant to the president for state government affairs from 1997 to 1999, he was responsible for the policy relationship between the federal government and the 50 states and governors, including welfare reform, transportation, education and other issues.
Leigh Neumayer, MD, executive dean, UA College of Medicine – Tucson, and UA Health Sciences interim senior vice president, will deliver the welcome remarks.
Additional remarks will be delivered by Kathryn L. Reed, MD, Class of 1977 and 2017 Alumni of the Year, professor and head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
Class speaker will be medical student Clark Alves, who will pursue residency training in family medicine at the Abrazo Central Campus in Phoenix.
Charles Cairns, MD, dean, UA College of Medicine – Tucson, will lead the graduating students in reciting the Hippocratic Oath.
Inspirational 2018 UA College of Medicine – Tucson graduates include Cubby Michael Pierre (emergency medicine residency) and David Reyes (internal medicine residency); their profiles are available on the UAHS Office of Public Affairs website at “UA Health Sciences Convocations 2018: Meet Some of the Graduates.”
FRIDAY, MAY 11
UA College of Pharmacy Convocation
9 to 10:30 a.m.
Centennial Hall
1020 E. University Blvd.
UA Main Campus, Tucson
(Reception follows at about 10:30 a.m. on the lawn of the Arizona State Museum across from Centennial Hall.)
This event also will be broadcast live and archived on the Internet at streaming.biocom.arizona.edu
Media contact: Alli Benjamin, 520-626-3389, cell phone 509.230.3520, abenjamin@pharmacy.arizona.edu
PharmD, MS and PhD graduates of the College—currently rated as one of the top twenty in the nation among colleges of pharmacy in America’s Best Graduate Schools compiled by U.S. News and World Report—will be hooded. Nearly 100 PharmD students and 8 graduate students will take part in the ceremony.
The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy is the premier pharmacy college in the Southwest, and one of the top in the nation, focused on drug discovery, toxicology, pharmaceutics, outcomes sciences, pharmaceutical education and research through interprofessional training and collaborative public/private partnerships. Preparing pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in undergraduate, professional, graduate and post-doctoral programs, the college embraces an entrepreneurial spirit, providing tailored educational opportunities to broaden students’ experiences. As the first health sciences college at the University, the college has a long history of improving science and health both in Arizona and around the world. For more information, visit www.pharmacy.arizona.edu
Inspirational 2018 UA College of Pharmacy graduates include Xu Zhou (PhD); her profile is available on the UAHS Office of Public Affairs website at “UA Health Sciences Convocations 2018: Meet Some of the Graduates.”
FRIDAY, MAY 11
UA College of Medicine – Tucson Convocation: undergraduates, Department of Physiology, Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree with a major in physiology
2 to 4 p.m.
UA Student Union Memorial Center, Grand Ballroom
1303 E. University Blvd.
UA Main Campus, Tucson
(Reception follows at approximately 4 p.m.)
Media contact: Jean Spinelli, 520-626-2531, cell phone 520-465-4193, jspinell@email.arizona.edu
Graduating seniors receiving the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree with a major in physiology will be recognized. Various awards will be presented.
Inspirational 2018 UA College of Medicine – Tucson Department of Physiology graduates include Maya Lowney and Christie Rosputni (each will receive a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree with a major in physiology); their profiles are available on the UAHS Office of Public Affairs website at “UA Health Sciences Convocations 2018: Meet Some of the Graduates.”
SATURDAY, MAY 12
UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Convocation
9 to 11 a.m.
Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd.
UA Main Campus, Tucson
(Reception for graduates, family and friends follows at the Women’s Plaza Walkway.)
The ceremony will be broadcast live by the Western Region Public Health Training Center (based at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health) and will be archived on the center’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/watch?v=zWQoLDuNQV4
Media contact: Gerri Kelly, 520-626-9669, cell phone 312-437-7007, gkelly@email.arizona.edu
The college will award 196 Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in public health; 86 Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees; 16 Online MPH degrees; two Master of Science in biostatistics; two Master of Science in environmental health sciences; three Doctor of Public Health degrees with a concentration in public health policy and management; five Doctor of Public Health degrees with a concentration in maternal and child health; and seven students will receive dual MD-MPH degrees, two from the UA College of Medicine – Tucson and five from the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix. (The MD-MPH Program is offered jointly by the UA Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix and the UA College of Public Health.)
Established in 2000, the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is the first nationally accredited college of public health in the Southwest. Today the college remains the only accredited college of public health in Arizona with campuses in Tucson and Phoenix. The college enrolls more than 1,100 students per year across degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Through research, education and community engagement, the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health continues to find solutions to public health problems in Arizona, the Southwest and globally.
Inspirational 2018 UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health graduates include Dametreea Carr; her profile is available on the UAHS Office of Public Affairs website at “UA Health Sciences Convocations 2018: Meet Some of the Graduates.”