An important part of the tradition and symbolism of any graduation ceremony is the honoring of distinguished guests who represent the mission and values of the institution. The four people who are receiving honorary degrees at UMass Chan’s 38th Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, June 5, fit that description well: former secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Donna E. Shalala, for her distinguished career in the service and promotion of public health; founding UMMS faculty member Arthur Pappas, MD, professor of orthopedics & physical rehabilitation and pediatrics, for his service to the University; and Autism Speaks founders Suzanne and Bob Wright, for their role in increasing autism awareness nationally.
UMass Medical School was created in l962 by an act of the Massachusetts legislature to enable state residents to study medicine at an affordable cost, and to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in underserved areas of the state. Its mission is to serve the people of the commonwealth through national distinction in health sciences education, research and public service.
Donna E. Shalala, promoting children’s health
UMass Chan will present an honorary degree to former secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Donna E. Shalala, for her distinguished career in the service and promotion of public health.
 Donna E. Shalala |
Shalala, who will give the keynote address, is a prominent public health advocate with more than 25 years of experience as a scholar, teacher and administrator. She was appointed secretary of HHS by President Clinton in 1993 and led the agency for eight years, becoming the longest-serving HHS secretary in U.S. history. As secretary, she oversaw a wide variety of programs including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Child Care and Head Start, Welfare, the Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Among her many accomplishments as HHS secretary, she made health insurance available to millions of children through the approval of all State Children’s Health Insurance Programs, raised child immunization rates to the highest levels in history, led major reforms of the FDA’s drug approval process and food safety system and revitalized the NIH. At the end of her tenure as secretary, she was described by the Washington Post as “one of the most successful government managers of modern times.”
Shalala recently chaired the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, which last October issued a comprehensive report on the challenges facing the nursing profession and opportunities to build upon nursing-based solutions to improve quality and transform the way Americans receive health care. Of interest to the UMMS community in general, and the Graduate School of Nursing in particular, the well-received report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, recommended enhancing the scope of practice for nurses; fostering interprofessional collaboration in which nurses are full partners in the health care team; and improving and expanding nursing education, particularly master’s and doctoral programs,
