College of Medicine to hold commencement June 1

May 30, 2012 | Events, UToday
By Staff



Boufford

Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, president of the New York Academy of Medicine, and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro will speak at the UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences’ commencement ceremony Friday, June 1, at 2 p.m. at Stranahan Theater.

There are more than 200 students who are candidates for degrees; this includes 166 students who will receive doctor of medicine degrees. Nine students will earn a PhD in biomedical sciences, and 43 will receive master’s degrees. There are nine candidates for combined degrees, including the college’s first two students who will receive the medicine/master of business administration degree. And 18 students are candidates for certificates.

Boufford will receive an honorary doctor of science degree at the ceremony.

Since 2007, she has charted the course of the New York Academy of Medicine. The independent organization’s priorities are to create environments in cities that support healthy aging, to strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public’s health, and to eliminate health disparities.

Boufford served as dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University from 1997 to 2002 and is professor of public service, health policy and management, and clinical professor of pediatrics at NYU.

From 1985 to 1989, she served as president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. Boufford also was principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 1997, and while there, served as the U.S. representative on the executive board of the World Health Organization from 1994 to 1997.

Boufford was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., in 1992 and is a member of its Executive Council, the Board of Global Health, and the Board on African Science Academy Development.

After attending Wellesley College for two years, Boufford received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her doctor of medicine degree from the UM Medical School.

Petro

Petro will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at the event.

He leads the University System of Ohio, which is one of the largest comprehensive systems of public higher education in the nation.

Petro served as Ohio auditor from 1995 to 2002, providing financial and performance oversight to the universities and other state agencies, and was later elected Ohio attorney general, an office he held from 2003 to 2006. His work there included that of chief legal officer to the state’s universities.

He has spent nearly three decades as an elected officeholder, also serving as state representative, Cuyahoga County commissioner and Rocky River city councilman.

An attorney for 38 years, Petro has litigated cases in most legal venues from Mayor’s Court to the United States Supreme Court and has represented clients ranging from prisoners claiming innocence to international corporations.

He has served on several nonprofit boards and as a pro bono lawyer for the Ohio Innocence Project. A recipient of many awards for his public service, Petro and his wife, Nancy, were recognized for their book, False Justice — Eight Myths That Convict the Innocent, with a 2011 Constitutional Commentary Award at Georgetown University School of Law.

Petro received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Denison University.

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