Graduation 2025: KU Medical Center celebrates students poised to make an impact in health care
KU graduates earning more than 850 degrees and certificates were honored in Kansas City with ceremonies for the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions.
With pomp and circumstance the weekend of May 17-18, the University of Kansas Medical Center sent off its graduating class of 2025.
Students joining the health care workforce — or leveling up their careers with advanced degrees — participated in separate hooding and recognition ceremonies for KU School of Health Professions, KU School of Medicine and KU School of Nursing. Graduates and their families flooded Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City for ceremonies to celebrate their achievements.
Many medical center graduates also participated in KU’s university-wide Commencement ceremony Sunday, May 18, at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
The medical center bestowed more than 850 degrees and certificates this year — with 280 from Health Professions, 310 from Medicine and 263 from Nursing. Deans from each of the three schools charged graduates with using skills learned at KU Medical Center to make a difference in the lives of patients, their communities and the world.
School of Medicine
The practice of medicine takes a team, emphasized Tammy Peterman in her keynote address to School of Medicine graduates. Peterman, M.S., FAAN, is executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer for The University of Kansas Health System and president of the Kansas City Division.
Peterman said she’d seen firsthand the importance of teamwork and leadership over her many years in the health system, as well as growing up the daughter of a family physician in western Kansas.
Peterman urged graduates to use their clinical training but also to remember the human aspect of their profession. “You will be with patients at the most vulnerable times in their lives,” she said. “One of the biggest ways you can make an impact is how you make people feel.”
“Today is just the beginning of this next chapter,” Peterman said. “You will make a mark on this world. Congratulations.”
KU School of Medicine Executive Dean Akinlolu Ojo, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, MPH, said it was with a great deal of joy that he addressed graduates going on to become outstanding physicians.
“On this momentous occasion we are proud of the diversity of disciplines of our graduates,” Ojo said. “We are also proud of the wide-ranging accomplishments of our graduates who will now embark on the next phase of their professional journeys — journeys that will improve multitudes of lives and communities here in Kansas, in our country and far beyond.”
“From now on it is your turn to give back to this school, to this community, to your profession, to your area of specialty and to humanity.”
School of Nursing
Jean Giddens, Ph.D., FAAN, who is completing her first year as dean of KU School of Nursing, told students that graduation represents their commitment to nursing and that they also have a responsibility to remain committed to lifelong learning.
“Staying abreast of the ongoing changes in nursing and health care, you are the generation of nurses who will move our health care system to the desired state of health equity for all. You are the generation of nurses that must be committed to promoting wellness and a positive workplace environment. We know that practicing civility, kindness and respect toward everyone you interact with provides a foundation for resilience,” Giddens said.
“As you begin your careers, or assume advanced roles in nursing, know you can make a difference at a time when we need you most.”
School of Health Professions
KU School of Health Professions Dean Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, acknowledged the “unwavering support” of graduates’ family and friends. He added that as a proud father with two daughters graduating this month — including one from KU School of Medicine — he now appreciates what “tears of joy” feel like for parents of college graduates.
Akinwuntan told graduates that when change needs to happen, they should not look to others to do it.
“There are a lot of things you will see during your practice, and most of them will need to change for the better. Do not look around, do not look up to people, to lead that change,” Akinwuntan said.
“You have learned a lot, and you have the skills to be the agent of that change. So, in a hurting world, in a world filled with pain and despair these days, there is obviously a need for change. I put that same question to you. I taught you we’re the agents of change. Make that change…”
“I have no doubt that you will go on to make an extraordinary impact on the health care landscape.”
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Many of the KU Medical Center graduates also took part in KU’s university-wide Commencement ceremony and traditional walk down the hill in Lawrence. |