This year's commencement speaker will be Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh, former dean of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Rubenstein is currently a professor in the Department of Medicine's Division of Endocrinology at Penn. Before joining Penn, he served for four years as dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Rubenstein is an internationally prominent endocrinologist recognized for clinical expertise and groundbreaking research in diabetes. He has served in numerous professional leadership positions, including president of the Association of American Physicians, chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine, chairman of the board of the Association of Academic Health Centers, among others. He is author of more than 350 publications and has held editorial advisory positions with several respected national and international journals. Rubenstein will receive an honorary doctor of science degree.

An honorary doctor of science degree will also be conferred upon Deeda Blair, a noted medical philanthropist. Blair's interest in cancer research and the prevention of infectious diseases has earned her prominent appointments to many national boards, including the Scripps Research Institute, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and the Harvard AIDS Institute Policy Board. She is director emeritus of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and co-founder of the Alexandria Summit, a series of conferences at which leading researchers gather to exchange ideas.

By the Numbers

A total of 443 students will receive degrees during the ceremony. The degree breakdown is as follows:

• 236 Doctor of Medicine degrees, including:
  • three joint MD/PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
  • one joint MD/MBA (Master of Business Administration)
  • one joint MD/MPH (Master of Public Health)
• 19 PhDs
• 188 master's degrees