16 May, 2008
Charles Rice, M.D., USU President
On Saturday May 17, we celebrated the University's 29th Commencement at Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall. The University granted degrees to 157 students from the School of Medicine, 63 degrees from the Graduate Education programs and 21 master's degrees and 3 doctorate degrees to students in the Graduate School of Nursing. My congratulations to all of you and your families. You have joined an extraordinary group of individuals: the USU alumni and we hope you will remain close to them and to us, your alma mater.
S. Ward Casscells, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Defense
I am sorry not to be with you today to recognize your achievement, and the pride (and patience!) of your loving families. I am visiting our hospitals in the sands and mountains that many of you will soon know well...
In each area USU brings unique needs and responsibilities, and talents, to complement the deep specialized knowledge of our civilian colleagues. Armed with the new tools that result from these collaborations, and, recalling that only a few years ago Soviet soldiers were driven from Afghanistan more by preventable diseases than by rockets, you will quickly make decisions that change the course of an epidemic or of a war.
Catch your breath now, express your thanks, and accept from me the thanks of our surgeons general and Secretary of Defense Dr. Gates. Then go out to lead, by serving those who guard our families and our freedom.
Full Commencement Message from the Assistant Secretary of Defense
Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health, Commencement Speaker
"I am deeply committed to nurturing the partnership between our two institutions... My commitment is grounded in our shared history, certainly. It is grounded in the many ways in which we have collaborated over the years to advance the cause of medicine. But it is also grounded in your university's present-day training in military medicine.
"Two years ago, I witnessed your Bushmaster training first-hand along with Dr. Rice. I saw how USU is training its graduates to be leaders in emergency medicine. All medical students would be well-served to receive such training in today's world. You have received it. From it, you learned to think on your feet-despite the chaos around you. You learned to lead, and at the same time to trust your colleagues.
"Here is another way that USU distinguishes itself from other medical schools. In most medical schools, commencement day is a day of farewells. Students, now graduates, scatter to pursue further training and subsequent careers. Unless they attend reunions, few will see each other again. As USU graduates, you will continue to rely on your classmates, who will now be your professional colleagues. That, I assure you, is a solid foundation, and a real gift - one that you will come to value increasingly with experience."
Director of NIH to Address USU Graduates at 29th Commencement ...Read Press Release
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Contact Information
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
4301 Jones Bridge Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
USU Graduates to "Care for Those in Harm's Way"