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UMass Medical School will celebrate the new academic year with a full slate of events recognizing student and faculty, including the School of Medicine White Coat ceremony on Friday, Sept. 14. |
UMass Medical School celebrates the new academic year with a full slate of events recognizing student and faculty accomplishments, beginning with Convocation and Investiture ceremonies on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. in the Albert Sherman Center auditorium. Chancellor Michael F. Collins will deliver his annual Convocation address and present the 2018 Chancellor’s Medals for excellence in teaching, scholarship, service and clinical excellence.
The Investiture ceremony, immediately following Convocation, will invest four distinguished faculty members as named professors and honor the donors who endowed them. The following named professors will be invested:
The Edward Budnitz, MD, Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine
Recipient: Jane Freedman, MD, professor of medicine, director of translational research for the UMass Memorial Heart and Vascular Center and director of the High-Throughput Gene Expression and Biomarker Core Lab
The Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair in Cancer Research
Recipient: Jonathan Gerber, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the Department of Medicine, medical director of the UMass Cancer Center and associate professor of medicine
The Ali and John Pierce Chair of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Recipient: Jason Shohet, MD, PhD, division chief of pediatric hematology and oncology and associate professor of pediatrics
The Li Weibo Chair in Biomedical Research
Recipient: Zhiping Weng, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology and director of the Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology
Endowments increase the institution’s ability to attract and retain individuals distinguished in their fields. Named professorships also provide an opportunity for donors to contribute to the enrichment and vitality of the academic and scientific environment.
The White Coat Ceremony will be held on Friday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m., under a tent on the campus green. There, in the presence of family, guests and faculty members, first-year School of Medicine students will be welcomed into the medical community by campus leaders, and presented with their first white coats. The keynote speech will be given by Robert Quinlan, MD, professor of surgery and recipient of the 2017 Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Clinical Excellence. A reception will follow on the ASC patio.
The Graduate School of Nursing’s Pinning Ceremony for Graduate Entry Program (GEP) students will take place Monday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in the ASC auditorium. GEP students, who become registered nurses after one year of accelerated coursework, will receive their GSN pins and recite a pledge to serve their communities and their profession. GEP students, who have bachelor’s degrees in fields other than nursing, complete further graduate study to become nurse practitioners, nurse educators and nursing executives. A reception in the ASC Cube will follow the ceremony.
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will host its recognition ceremony for graduate students who have successfully completed the qualifying exam on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m. in the ASC auditorium. Passing the qualifying exam is a milestone for PhD students, marking their transition from classroom-based learning to dissertation research as formal candidates for doctoral degrees. The ceremony will be followed by a reception in the ASC Cube.
All events are open to the UMMS community. Convocation, the White Coat Ceremony, the GSN pinning ceremony and the GSBS recognition ceremony will be broadcast live on the medical school’s Facebook page. For more information about these events, visit the University Events website. Follow the events on the medical school’s Facebook page and on Twitter @UMassMedical.
Related stories on UMassMedNow:
Four faculty members appointed to endowed professorships
Zhiping Weng appointed to newly endowed chair
