Georgetown University Announces Commencement Speakers
Posted in GUMC Stories
MAY 4, 2015 — A global mental health expert, the CEO of a Catholic health care delivery system and a devoted “malaria fighter” have been tapped to deliver commencement addresses for The School of Medicine, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Nursing & Health Studies.
Students, family, faculty, alumni and friends can follow commencement activities online, including live webcasts. Information about how to share memories, pictures and words of wisdom with the class of 2015 can be viewed at http://www.georgetown.edu/hoyas2015 (new window) beginning May 11.
School of Nursing & Health Studies
Vikram Patel, MRCPsych, PhD, FMedSci
Professor of International Mental Health and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science
Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Sangath, Goa, India
Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries, Public Health Foundation of India
An internationally known academic in the field of global mental health, Patel is a psychiatrist with research interests in social and cultural determinants, epidemiology and the treatment of mental disorders in community and primary health care settings in India and other resource poor settings. He jointly directs the Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries at the Public Health Foundation of India in New Delhi. He also works with Sangath in Goa, India, a mental health research non-governmental organization, which he co-founded in 1997. Since 2011, Patel has served on two Government of India health committees. Patel was the founding and joint director of the Centre for Global Mental Health, a partnership of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Kings Health Partners. The Wellcome Trust has supported his work since 1996, and in 2005, he became a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science.
Honorary Degree: Doctor of Science
Saturday, May 16, Healy Lawn, 3 p.m.
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
R. Timothy Ziemer
Rear Admiral, United States Navy (Retired)
President’s Malaria Initiative Coordinator
Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer leads the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a historic U.S. government initiative to reduce the burden of malaria and help relieve poverty in Africa. Appointed in June 2006, Rear Admiral Ziemer has served as the U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator for the past eight years, leading the initiative across two administrations. He has been recognized as “one of the most quietly effective leaders in public health.”As coordinator, Rear Admiral Ziemer reports to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator and has direct authority over both PMI and USAID malaria programs.
Honorary Degree: Doctor of Humane Letters
Friday, May 15, Healy Lawn, 9 a.m.
School of Medicine
Richard J. Gilfillan, MD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer, Trinity Health
Richard J. “Rick” Gilfillan, MD, is president and CEO of Trinity Health, a $13.6 billion Catholic health system that serves communities in 21 states with 85 hospitals, 128 continuing care facilities and home health and hospice programs that provide more than 2.8 million visits annually. Gilfillan has been a leader in U.S. health care for more than 25 years, building successful organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors to deliver better outcomes for people and communities. Named as the first director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in 2010, he worked quickly with payers and providers to develop innovative models for improving patient care and reducing costs.
Honorary Degree: Doctor of Science
Sunday, May 17, National Theater, 11 a.m.
To read about speakers for other schools, click here (new window).