Students celebrate during commencement events
EVMS will celebrate its largest commencement to date May 19 as more than 400 students join the ranks of EVMS alumni and enter into careers in health professions and medicine. The Class of 2018 includes students from the institution’s new master’s-level program, Pathologists’ Assistant.
The commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at Norfolk Scope Arena. Keynote speaker Karen Remley, MD, MBA, MPH, FAAP will give the official address. Dr. Remley is the first female CEO and Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In that role, she represents more than 60,000 pediatricians across the nation and helps shape public policy in pediatric care globally. From 2008 to 2012 she served as Commissioner of Health for the Commonwealth of Virginia, where she served as the lead advisor to the Governor on public health issues. She also managed a $560 million budget and 4,000 employees in that role. During her tenure, the state saw significant improvements in important public health indicators including teen pregnancy, infant mortality, and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Remley is a 20-year member of the EVMS faculty and was the founding director of the EVMS M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health. She led the Institute’s efforts to connect the clinical, research and educational programs to specific health concerns in the region.
Commencement is the culminating event of several days of graduation-related ceremonies, including the annual white-coat retirement ceremony for graduating medical students, the Surgical Assisting and Physician Assistant formal white-coat ceremonies and the Military Commissioning and Recognition Ceremony.