Commencement program

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Printed program

Download a PDF of the printed commencement program here.

Order of ceremonies

President of Penn State University, Neeli Bendapudi, PhD, Presiding

Prelude

Sarah Simion, Medical Student Class of 2026, Pianist

Triumphal March from the Opera “Aida” (Verdi)

Academic Processional

Dwight Davis, MD
College of Medicine Marshall
Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Penn State Heart and Vascular institute

Welcome

Neeli Bendapudi, PhD
President, The Pennsylvania State University

National Anthem

Lauren Dennis
MD/MPH Class of 2024

Invocation

The Rev. David B. Simmons, DMin, BCC
Director of Pastoral Services

Welcome

Karen Kim, MD, MS
Dean, Penn State College of Medicine

Commencement Address

Howard Koh, MD, MPH
Inaugural Chair of the Initiative on Health and Homelessness
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Authorization to Confer Degrees

Steve Wagman
Board of Trustees
The Pennsylvania State University

Graduate Student Speech

Kristen Manto
Graduate Student Class Representative

Graduate Student Oath

(Read the full oath here)

Leslie J. Parent, MD
Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Research
Co-Director, Medical Scientist Training Program
Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology

Conferring of Graduate Degrees

Neeli Bendapudi, PhD

Levon Esters, PhD
Dean of the Graduate School
Vice Provost for Graduate Education
The Pennsylvania State University

Daniela Zarnescu, PhD
Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Patricia Mclaughlin, MS, DEd
College of Medicine Hooder, Graduate Program
Professor Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Graduate Program in Anatomy
Distinguished Educator

Physician Assistant Student Speech

Bradley Connolley
Physician Assistant Student Class Representative

Physician Assistant Professional Oath

(Read the full oath here)

Larissa Whitney, DBA, MHS, PA-C
Assistant Dean and Program Director, Physician Assistant Program
Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine

Conferring of Physician Assistant Degrees

Neeli Bendapudi, PhD

Karen Kim, MD, MS

David Richard, MD, FAAFP
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Vice Chair of Education, Department of Family and Community Medical Director, Physician Assistant Program
Distinguished Educator
Penn State College of Medicine

Larissa Whitney, DBA, MHS, PA-C
College of Medicine Hooder, Physician Assistant Program

Kristi Gruber, MEd, PA-C
College of Medicine Hooder, Physician Assistant Program
Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
Coordinator of Student Engagement, Physician Assistant Program

Medical Degree Student Speech

Ryan Murphy
Medical Degree Student Representative

The Oath of Modern Hippocrates

(Read the full oath here)

Erica Friedman, MD, FACP
Vice Dean for Educational Affairs
Professor of Medicine

Conferring of Medical Degrees

Neeli Bendapudi, PhD

Karen Kim, MD, MS

Emmanuelle D. Williams, MD, MEd
College of Medicine Assistant Marshall, Medical Degree Program
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Associate Professor of Medicine

Nancy Adams, MLIS, EdD
College of Medicine Hooder, Medical Degree Program
Assistant Dean, Foundational Sciences

Eileen Moser, MD, MHPE, MACP
College of Medicine Hooder, Medical Degree Program
Associate Dean for Medical Education
Professor of Medicine

Ira Ropson, PhD
College of Medicine Hooder, Medical Degree Program
Assistant Dean, Medical Student Research
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Mark Stephens, MD, MS, FAAFP
Captain (retired), Medical Corps, U.S. Navy
College of Medicine Hooder, Medical Degree Program
Associate Dean for Medical Education
University Park Regional Campus

Greetings from the Alumni Society

Rachel Fogle, PhD ’10
President, Penn State College of Medicine Alumni Society Boad
Associate Professor and Program Lead of Enviromental Sciences
Harrisburg University

Special Greetings

Karen Kim, MD, MS

Benediction

The Rev. Simmons

Recessional

Sarah Simion
Trumpet Voluntary (Clark)
(Audience remains seated.)

Commencement address

Howard K. Koh MD, MPH

Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Howard K. Koh is the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health as well as Faculty Co-Chair of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. In these roles, he advances interdisciplinary leadership education and training at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as well as across Harvard University. He also serves as the inaugural Chair of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Initiative on Health and Homelessness and Co-Director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality and Religion at Harvard University. Previously at Harvard School of Public Health (2003-2009), he was Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Director of the School’s Center for Public Health Preparedness.

From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Koh served as the 14th assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after being nominated by President Barack Obama and being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During that time, he oversaw 12 core public health offices, including the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, 10 Regional Health Offices across the nation, and 10 Presidential and Secretarial advisory committees. He served as senior public health advisor to the HHS Secretary and, in that capacity, oversaw Healthy People 2020 (the nation’s public health agenda), promoted the disease prevention and public health dimensions of the Affordable Care Act, advanced outreach to enroll underserved and minority populations into health insurance coverage, helped to coordinate federal response during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and was the primary architect of landmark HHS strategic plans for tobacco control, chronic hepatitis and health disparities (including Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health). He led the interdisciplinary implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy as well as initiatives in nutrition and physical activity (including HHS activities for Let’s Move!), cancer control, adult immunization, environmental health and climate change, women’s health, adolescent health, behavioral health and substance use disorders, health literacy, multiple chronic conditions, organ donation and epilepsy.

In his academic career, Dr. Koh has been Principal Investigator for over $27 million in research grant activities and published more than 300 articles in the medical and public health literature. His publications and writing address broad areas, such as disease prevention and health promotion, health reform, health equity (including Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health), health and spirituality, public health emergency preparedness and the Covid-19 pandemic, health literacy and public health leadership. He has also published on specific topics such as tobacco control and cancer control, melanoma and skin oncology, the opioid crisis, health issues of the homeless, chronic hepatitis, climate change, organ donation and epilepsy.

From 1997-2003, Dr. Koh was Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after being appointed by Governor William Weld. As Commissioner, he led the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which included a wide range of health services, four hospitals, and more than 3,000 health professionals. He emphasized the power of prevention and strengthened the state’s commitment to eliminating health disparities, while advancing progress in areas such as tobacco control, bioterrorism response after 9/11 and anthrax, newborn screening, organ donation, suicide prevention and international public health partnerships.

Dr. Koh graduated from Yale College, where he was President of the Yale Glee Club, and the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed postgraduate training at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as chief resident in both hospitals. He has earned board certification in four medical fields: internal medicine, hematology, medical oncology, and dermatology, as well as a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University. At Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, he was Professor of Dermatology, Medicine and Public Health as well as Director of Cancer Prevention and Control.

He has earned over 70 awards and honors for interdisciplinary accomplishments in medicine and public health, including six honorary doctorate degrees. President Bill Clinton appointed Dr. Koh to the National Cancer Advisory Board (2000-2002). He has received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for National Service and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society. He was awarded the 2014 Sedgwick Memorial Medal from the American Public Health Association (APHA) (its highest honor) and at the same time was named one of the four inaugural inductees into the APHA’s Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine). A past Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for a Healthy Future (the group that pushed for the Commonwealth’s groundbreaking tobacco control initiative), Dr. Koh was recognized by the New England Division of the American Cancer Society as “one of the most influential persons in the fight against tobacco during the last 25 years”. He was named to the K100 (the 100 leading Korean Americans in the first century of Korean immigration to the United States) and has received the Boston University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the country’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare as well as one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare. In 2019, HHS established the annual Dr. Howard K. Koh Award for Excellence in Leadership, sponsored by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council.

Other recognition includes the Champion Award from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the “Hero of Epilepsy” Award from the Epilepsy Foundation, the Distinguished National Leadership Award from the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, the Baruch S. Blumberg Prize from the Hepatitis B Foundation, the National Leadership Award from the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the Dr. Jim O’Connell Award from the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. In 2021, he was named the inaugural Bayer Fellow in Health and Tech at the American Academy in Berlin. He enjoys the distinction of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on two different occasions: at Nationals Park (2011) in Washington DC on behalf of HHS and at Fenway Park (2003) where he was designated a “Medical All Star” by the Boston Red Sox in recognition of his national contributions to the field of early detection and prevention of melanoma.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Truth Initiative, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and New England Donor Services. Dr. Koh and his wife, Dr. Claudia Arrigg, are the proud parents of three adult children and the proud grandparents of four grandchildren.

Dean’s awards

As part of its Commencement 2024 celebration, Penn State College of Medicine will recognize several graduates from the medical student, physician assistant, MD/PhD and graduate programs who did outstanding work in their academic and clinical careers.

See 2024 award recipients here

Board of Trustees

The Pennsylvania State University

Members Ex Officio

Josh Shapiro
Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Neeli Bendapudi
President, The Pennsylvania State University

Cynthia A. Dunn
Secretary, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Khalid N. Mumin
Acting Secretary, Department of Education

Russell C. Redding
Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Appointed by the governor

Abraham Amoros
David M. Davis
Daniel J. Delligatti
David M Kleppinger
Daniel A. Onorato
Terrence M. Pegula

Elected by Alumni

Edward “Ted” B. Brown, III
Alvin F. de Levie
Barry J. Fenchak
Christa A. Hasenkopf
Ali Krieger
Anthony P. Lubrano
Joseph “Jay” V. Paterno Jr.
Brandon D. Short
Steven B. Wagman

Elected by Delegates From Agricultural Societies

Randall “Randy” E. Black
Donald W. Cairns
Valerie L. Detwiler
Lynn A. Dietrich
M. Abraham Harpster
Chris R. Hoffman

Elected by Board Representing Business and Industry

Robert F. Beard
Robert E. Fenza
Naren K. Gursahaney
Karen H. Quintos
Mary Lee Schneider
Richard S. Sokolov

Elected by Board – At Large

Tracy A. Riegel
Julia Anna Potts
Matthew W. Schuyler

Student Trustee

Kevin B. Schuyler

Academic Trustee

Nicholas J. Rowland

Immediate Past President, Alumni Association

Kelley M. Lynch

About Penn State

The Pennsylvania State University is a multi-campus, land-grant, public research university that educates students from around the world and supports individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service.

Penn State, founded in 1855 as an agricultural college, admitted its first class in 1859. The Pennsylvania legislature designated Penn State as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution in 1863, which eventually broadened the University’s mission to include teaching, research, and public service in many academic disciplines. Penn State has awarded more than a half-million degrees and has been Pennsylvania’s largest source of baccalaureate degrees at least since the 1930s.

Although the University is privately chartered by the Commonwealth, it was from the outset considered an “instrumentality of the state,” that is, it carries out many of the functions of a public institution and promotes the general welfare of the citizenry. The governor and other representatives of the Commonwealth have held seats on Penn State’s Board of Trustees since the University’s founding, and the legislature has made regular appropriations in support of the University’s mission since 1887.

Today, Penn State is one of four “state-related” universities (along with the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and Lincoln University), institutions that are not state-owned and -operated but that have the character of public universities and receive substantial state appropriations. With its administrative and research hub at the University Park campus, Penn State has twenty-three additional locations across Pennsylvania. While some of these locations, such as Penn State College of Medicine, have specialized academic roles, they all adhere to a common overall mission and set of core values and strategic goals.

Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, continuing, and extension education offered through both resident instruction and distance learning. Our educational programs are enriched by the talent, knowledge, diversity, creativity, and teaching and research acumen of our faculty, students, and staff.

Today, Penn State awards more associate, baccalaureate and graduate degrees than any other institution in the commonwealth. Penn State programs show up in the top 10 in many national rankings. Graduates of the University join a family of some 775,000 alumni. The Penn State Alumni Association – the largest dues paying organization of its kind — helps Penn Staters stay connected with each other and the University through a powerful network of more than 139 chapters and other affiliated groups across the United States and around the world.

Visit www.psu.edu to learn more.

About Penn State College of Medicine

This year, we celebrate our 54th Commencement ceremony. Penn State College of Medicine opened its doors to its first class of medical and graduate students in 1967.

We were the first medical school in the nation with a dedicated Department of Humanities and Department of Family and Community Medicine. Our founders understood that it wasn’t enough to teach students the science of medicine; they also needed to understand the humanity of medicine.

Our history is intertwined with the legacy of Milton S. Hershey. In 1963, The Milton S. Hershey Foundation offered $50 million to The Pennsylvania State University to establish a medical school in Hershey. With this grant and $21.3 million from the U.S. Public Health Service, the University built a medical school, research center and teaching hospital – Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The University broke ground in 1966, and Penn State College of Medicine opened its doors to students in 1967. The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accepted its first patients in 1970.

The original buildings at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center included the Medical Science Building and University Hospital, Animal Research Farm, Laundry and Steam Plant and University Manor Apartments. Since 1970, the campus has grown from 318 to 552 acres. Many additions have been made to the academic and patient care facilities, reflecting the steady increase in patient demand for services, the need to expand research and training programs and the College’s commitment to be an innovator in improving health.

In 2016, the new University Technology Center opened, offering bold, new opportunities for clinicians and researchers to utilize “big data” to enhance patient care through disease modeling and predictors for disease.

Since the first commencement in 1969, Penn State College of Medicine students have become accomplished physicians and scientists. Including today’s graduates, the College of Medicine has now conferred master’s and doctorate degrees to over 4,500 physicians, nearly 1,400 scientists and other biomedical and public health professionals. To date, more than 4,000 resident physicians have been trained in medical specialties at Hershey Medical Center.

In 2014, the College of Medicine began offering a master’s-level physician assistant program, with the first class of 30 students graduating in 2016.

Our regional medical campus at University Park also continues to grow. Since 2012, as many as 50 third- and fourth-year medical students have come to the regional campus for unique clinical opportunities and to participate in joint degree programs. In 2015, we began a new family and community residency program that brings six new family physicians to this region each year. In the summer of 2017, we began to offer a full medical school curriculum at the regional campus, with the students starting and completing their medical school studies at University Park.

Nursing students from Penn State College of Health and Human Development, as well as students from other colleges throughout central Pennsylvania, come to Hershey Medical Center for their clinical experience. The extended Bachelor of Science degree program for nurses is offered in conjunction with the College of Health and Human Development. Additionally, a joint Doctor of Medicine/Master of Business Administration program is offered through the regional medical campus.

Continuing education programs serve Hershey Medical Center and other health care professionals throughout Pennsylvania, with enrollment exceeding 58,000 annually.

Basic science and clinical research to treat and cure major diseases are conducted at the College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center. This past fiscal year, this research was supported by a record $154 million in awards from federal, state and private agencies; businesses; and individuals. More than 300 clinical trials are underway.

In addition to being an exceptional setting for educational and research programs, Hershey Medical Center offers a variety of high-quality health care services to patients throughout central Pennsylvania.

In addition to Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and Penn State Cancer Institute, Penn State Health includes Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center and two adult acute care hospitals, Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center. Penn State Health also includes Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital, Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, outpatient surgery, an endoscopy center, and a growing network of more than 225 outpatient clinics throughout central Pennsylvania. Hershey Medical Center is a leader in providing leading-edge clinical programs in areas including cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, high-risk obstetrics and comprehensive breast care services.

Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health make up one of the nation’s premier university-affiliated health systems, recruiting faculty members who are internationally known for their accomplishments in research, education and patient care.