Saluting our newest graduates
The UT Southwestern Medical School conferred degrees upon more than 230 new graduates June 1 in a Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center packed to the rafters with faculty members, friends and relatives of the Class of 2016.
Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center, presided over the Commencement Exercises, introducing distinguished members of the faculty seated on the front row of the stage, and introducing commencement speaker Dr. George E. Thibault, President of the Josiah H. Macy Jr. Foundation.
The graduates received diplomas commemorating their Doctor of Medicine degrees, in many cases “with Distinction” in particular areas of expertise, and in most all cases accompanied by raucous applause and celebration.
Southwestern Medical Foundation trustee James R. Huffines, formerly chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, presented the 2016 Ho Din Award to Dr. Samuel Thomas Parnell, at graduate of UT Austin who will shortly begin a residency in Emergency Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Ho Din Award is the oldest award given to a graduating UT Southwestern student, having been created by the Foundation in 1943. The graduate so honored is one who displays outstanding knowledge, wisdom, and compassion. Ho Din recognition includes a certificate, a gold key charm, and an award of $10,000.
“I was humbled to receive this award from the Southwestern Medical Foundation,” Dr. Parnell said after the event. “I believe that there were more than 230 strong candidates sitting right in front of me when I accepted it.”
Dr. Thibault, whose Commencement address was a reminiscence of growing up the son of the only doctor in a small town in Upstate New York, began his talk with a tribute to Dr. Donald Seldin, Chairman Emeritus of Internal Medicine, who was seated on the front row of the stage.
“My first visit to Dallas and to this wonderful medical school was in 1974, when I was visiting Chief Resident in Internal Medicine from Mass General Hospital [in Boston],” Dr. Thibault recalled, with great feeling. “Here I came under the influence of that remarkable figure, Dr. Donald Seldin, one of the real heroes of American Medicine. He left a remarkable imprint on me then, and all through my life, and it’s nice to come back.”
Degrees were conferred by Sara Martinez Tucker of Dallas, a member the UT System Board of Regents, who, along with Dr. Podolsky, greeted the graduates as they were introduced by Dr. J. Gregory Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of UT Southwestern. Dr. Lee Ann Pearse, President of the Dallas County Medical Society, administered the physician’s oath to the new doctors.
Back on campus, at the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium, the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences held its Commencement exercises June 2, with 91 degrees being bestowed.
Dr. Sandra Schmid, Chair and Professor of Cell Biology, delivered the Commencement address. Dr. Schmid urged the graduates to create their own teams, and to recognize that the skills and values they learned in graduate school are transferable and will enable them to succeed in whatever career path they choose.
She also encouraged the new graduates to take stock and identify what motivates them, what they are uniquely qualified to do, and where they can make the biggest difference. Finally, she discussed the reality of unconscious gender bias and urged greater awareness of its consequences on decision-making for both men and women.
Degrees were conferred by Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center, and presented by Dr. Andrew R. Zinn, Dean of the Graduate School.
