The College of Medicine and Life Sciences will host The University of Toledo’s final 2024 spring commencement ceremony on Friday, May 17.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. in Savage Arena on UToledo’s Main Campus.
The College of Medicine and Life Sciences hosts UToledo’s final 2024 spring commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday in Savage Arena on Main Campus.
Dr. Patrice A. Harris, a board-certified psychiatrist whose achievements include building one of the nation’s leading on-demand virtual care platforms and being the first black woman to serve as president of the American Medical Association, will provide the commencement address.
More than 200 students will receive doctor of medicine, doctor of philosophy or master’s degrees as part of this year’s graduating class.
“I am so looking forward to this year’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences commencement ceremony,” said Dr. Christopher Cooper, dean of the college. “This will be my 10th and final spring commencement as dean of the college, and it is delightful to see our graduates who are well prepared to make significant impacts as regional, national and global leaders in their fields as well-trained physicians, healthcare providers and scientists.”
Cooper, who has led the College of Medicine and Life Sciences since 2014, is stepping down as dean and returning to faculty at the end of the academic year.
Harris grew up in West Virginia and earned her undergraduate, master’s and medical degrees from West Virginia University. She has placed a particular focus on both the opioid epidemic and children’s mental health throughout her career, leading efforts on both local and national levels to integrate public health and behavioral health into overall healthcare and address health inequities and social determinants of health.
Dr. Patrice A. Harris will provide the commencement address.
Harris also served as a trusted voice and visible leader in health and public health during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
As she looks toward the class of 2024, she encourages graduates to practice with a careful and unbiased eye.
“With the never-ending barrage of misinformation and disinformation facing all of us today, the ability and capacity for critical thinking and discernment are must-have skills for newly minted physicians,” she said. “It’s also important they earn the trust of the individuals and communities they serve and lead with intention and authenticity.”
Harris currently serves as CEO of eMed, the digital health company she founded in 2020 to improve access to at home diagnostic testing. Since then, the firm has expanded to offer a range of guided test kits for other common illnesses, supervised chronic disease services and drug screening.
She also is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a visiting professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University, an adjunct assistant professor at the Emory School of Medicine, an adjunct clinical assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Morehouse School of Medicine and serves as Chief Health and Medical Editor of Everydayhealth.com.
“We are fortunate to again have another exceptional commencement speaker,” Cooper said. “Dr. Harris has used her exceptional talents as a psychiatrist to improve health with her patients and across our country.”
Harris will receive an honorary doctor of science degree from UToledo.
UToledo hosted multiple spring commencement ceremonies for the colleges of Arts and Letters, Business and Innovation, Education, Engineering, Health and Human Services, Law, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Nursing and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences May 3, 4 and 5.
