American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) will hold its 2017 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 27, 2017 at the Sonesta Maho Resort in St. Maarten. The event will bring together graduating physicians, their families and friends, in celebration of earning their MD degrees. The morning session will begin at 9:30 am ET and the afternoon session will begin at 2:30 pm ET.
AUC alumnus Dhaval Desai, MD (Class of 2008), Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Director of Hospital Medicine at Emory Saint Joseph’s, and Hospitalist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, will deliver this year’s keynote address. Dr. Desai oversees patients’ care at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital and coordinates their transition from the hospital to home care. Under his leadership, Emory Saint Joseph’s has experienced a significant increase in patient satisfaction and a decrease in patients’ length of stay.
The ceremony will also include remarks by Heidi Chumley, MD, Executive Dean and Chief Academic Officer; Julie Taylor, MD, Senior Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs; Golden Jackson, PhD, Assistant Dean for Service-Learning and Community Affairs; Cecil Cone, MD, Chair of the Department of Pathology Chair; and, two of this year’s graduating physicians: William Gaylord (morning ceremony) and Chris Haltigin (afternoon ceremony).
Gaylord and Haltigin were each nominated by their peers and faculty to deliver the class representative response. Both were diagnosed with and overcame cancer while at AUC and just recently matched into residencies in the United States. Gaylord will begin his pediatrics residency at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in July and Haltigin will begin his obstetrics and gynecology residency at Beaumont-Royal Oak Hospital in Detroit.
>> Read more about Chris Haltigin's path to residency here.
Prior to the traditional hooding ceremony, Drs. Tayor and Jackson will present this year’s Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and Excellence in Community and University Service Award.
Both morning and afternoon events will conclude with an Alumni Association address by Athena Andreadis, MD, Professor of Behavioral and Clinical Medicine at AUC and a 2007 graduate of the university. Dr. Andreadis will welcome graduates into AUC’s Alumni Association, a network of more than 6,000 physicians practicing around the world.
Since 1978, AUC has provided an excellent medical education to qualified students of diverse backgrounds. The university's students and graduates continue to live its mission to preserve, transmit, and apply humanity’s accumulated medical knowledge and clinical skills to communities around the world.
Morning and afternoon ceremonies will be live broadcast on AUC’s YouTube and Facebook pages. To schedule an interview or for more information, contact AUC’s Communications Department:
Shannon Toher
stoher@aucmed.edu
410-746-0498
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AUC to Hold 2017 Commencement This Weekend
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