Celebrating Commencement in the 50th Year of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New physicians recited the Modern Hippocratic Oath during the ceremony on Friday, May 11.
From left: Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Commencement speaker Timothy P. Shriver, PhD, Chairman of the Board, Special Olympics, and Dennis S. Charney. MD.
A pioneer in the study of addiction, a leader in biomedical engineering, a champion of reproductive rights, and a physician-scientist whose work has revolutionized the fight against some cancers were honored as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai celebrated its 49th Commencement— and the 50th Anniversary of its founding.
The Icahn School of Medicine granted 145 MDs, 64 PhDs, and 24 dual degrees in the ceremony held on Friday, May 11, at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. “I know that you have the hearts, minds, and passion” to change the future of medicine, the graduates were told by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. Fifty years ago, Dr. Charney said, “The School of Medicine was founded with a focus on the clinical and biologic problems facing the physician, with a dedication to the personal problems of the patient and family. It fostered the ‘healer’ mentality that still exists today.”
Huen Suk (Crystal) Kim, PhD, received her hood from Christoph Schaniel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology.
Dr. Charney saluted “Giants of Mount Sinai”—many of them on the Commencement stage—who were early graduates and faculty who have made transformative contributions to science and medicine. He also listed some accomplishments of the Class of 2018. One graduate cofounded a national patients’ advocacy organization; another wrote a comprehensive overview of palliative care in Africa. Other graduates fought bias in patient care and made advances in the study of immunotherapy, bipolar disorder, and drug addiction. “I am confident you will carry on the tradition of our great institution,” Dr. Charney said.
Aryeh Stock, MD—holding his son, Alex—received his hood from his father, Jeffrey A. Stock, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Urology, and Pediatrics, and Class of 1988.
Timothy P. Shriver, PhD, Chairman of the Board, Special Olympics, delivered the commencement address to nearly 3,000 faculty, staff, graduates, and their families and friends who filled the hall. Dr. Shriver said people with intellectual disabilities faced “extraordinary social, cultural, and physical pain” in addition to discrimination in housing and health care. But even in adversity, he said, “for the most part they do not choose hate or anger, they choose healing.” He asked the graduates to also choose to be healers, “not just in the way we use medicine and research, but in the way we live as citizens and the way we live as human beings.”
Dr. Shriver received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his work promoting inclusion, friendship, and physical fitness among 5.3 million Special Olympics athletes and their families worldwide. Honorary degrees also were awarded to:
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD, Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, and Professor of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Biomedical Engineering, the University of Connecticut, who received an honorary Doctor of Science degree for groundbreaking work in biomaterials, stem cell science, nanotechnology, drug-delivery systems, and a field he has pioneered, regenerative engineering.
Douglas R. Lowy, MD, Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute, who received an honorary Doctor of Science degree for biomedical research that led to three vaccines that counteract human papillomavirus, which is responsible for 5 percent of cancers. This clinical intervention has had a major impact on human health around the world.
Cecile Richards, former President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for advancing women’s health and reproductive rights, and helping to create healthier lives for young people and marginalized communities across the nation.
Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, who received an honorary Doctor of Science degree for work that has demonstrated that drug addiction is a disease of the brain, helping to shift the national understanding of addiction and create a movement to combat the epidemic of opioid addiction.
Peter W. May, Chairman, Boards of Trustees, Mount Sinai Health System, gave the graduates a history lesson, pointing out that in 1968 the School of Medicine opened in a former bus garage on 102nd Street. “That building contained all the labs, one classroom, and all the administrative offices. And look at us now,” Mr. May said. “In 50 years, the Icahn School of Medicine has evolved into one of the country’s best medical schools, backed by a broad system of what will soon be eight hospitals that care for millions of patients with the same excellence.” He added, “I hope that the momentum we’ve established continues and that Mount Sinai will remain at the forefront of academic excellence and wonderful patient care for anybody who needs it. And I hope that you, our graduates, continue to be the leaders who welcome and address the inevitable changes in health care that are ahead of all of us.”
Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System, also called on the graduates to be leaders in clinics, in laboratories, and in their communities, especially in confronting gun violence, which he called an epidemic far more pressing than the Ebola or Zika viruses. “We need to treat gun violence like the public health problem that it is,” Dr. Davis said, adding that it kills 96 Americans every day.
“Today, as you get your degree in medicine, let it also double as a degree in changing the world,” Dr. Davis said. “Your community needs you, your country needs you, your classmates and colleagues need you. From this moment forward, you are our hope. Thank you for what I know you will do in the years to come.”
