I will represent my profession honorably by conducting myself and my professional endeavors in a manner that is above reproach. I pledge never to allow financial gain or ambition to cloud my judgment. I will pursue truth and create knowledge for the greater good, but never to the detriment of others. I will maintain scientific integrity in all my work. I will acknowledge and honor the contributions of those who have preceded me and will commit myself to lifelong learning. I will show compassion, embrace diversity and uphold excellence so that I become a worthy role model deserving of respect by all.

The Physician's Pledge:

AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE to dedicate my life to the service of humanity;

THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF MY PATIENT will be my first consideration;

I WILL RESPECT the autonomy and dignity of my patient;

I WILL MAINTAIN the utmost respect for human life;

I WILL NOT PERMIT considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;

I WILL RESPECT the secrets that are confided in me, even after the patient has died;

I WILL PRACTICE my profession with conscience and dignity and in accordance with good medical practice;

I WILL FOSTER the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession;

I WILL GIVE to my teachers, colleagues and students the respect and gratitude that is their due;

I WILL SHARE my medical knowledge for the benefit of the patient and the advancement of healthcare;

I WILL ATTEND TO my own health, well-being and abilities in order to provide care of the highest standard;

I WILL NOT USE my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat;

I MAKE THESE PROMISES solemnly, freely and upon my honor.

©2017 World Medical Association

A tradition that reaches back nearly a thousand years, commencement symbolizes not so much the culmination of the years of effort on the part of both students and teachers, but rather the beginning—the commencement—of a productive social and professional life, and a life of continued learning.

The first university, the University of Bologna, was founded in Italy in 1162 and offered specialized education in the major professional fields of the medieval world: law, medicine, government and theology—areas that would dominate European and American higher education until the 20th century.

From Bologna, the concept of university education spread throughout Europe and later to the New World. The pageantry and symbolism of commencement are typified by the cap and gown, which in their original forms were simply the everyday attire of the medieval scholar. The additions of the centuries have made them what they are today.

The academic costume has three basic parts: the cap, the gown and the hood. Three factors must be taken into consideration—the degree (bachelor, master, doctor); the branch of knowledge (nursing, medicine, etc.); and the university by which the degree is granted. The bachelor's gown is black, has long sleeves and is worn closed. The master's gown is black but has short sleeves and a crescent cut at the sleeve end. Some are open at the wrist; others have a slit in the upper part of the sleeve. The doctor's gown is often black, preferably silk, with full, round sleeves that are barred in either black velvet or velvet of the color used in the hood to designate the branch of learning.

Many American universities, as well as British ones, now have gowns of characteristic color for doctoral graduates. For instance, a graduate of Harvard University may wear a crimson gown, a New York University graduate a violet gown, and a University of Pennsylvania graduate a gown of red and blue. The shape and size of the American hood mark the degree of the wearer. The lining of the hood is indicative of the institution granting the degree and is usually the official color or colors of the school. If two colors are used, one is generally arranged as a chevron upon the other. The bachelor's hood is three feet long, the master's three-and-a-half feet long, and the doctor's four feet long. Bachelor of Science and Master of Science candidates wear sun-gold hoods; Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts candidates white hoods. Doctor of Philosophy candidates wear blue hoods. Doctor of Medicine candidates wear green hoods. Candidates with annotated degrees may wear hoods of other colors, such as apricot (Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing), teal (Master of Physical Therapy), and blue with white trim (Master of Arts, Creative Arts in Therapy), to name a few.

Caps are traditionally black with a long tassel fastened to the mid-point. A doctor's cap may have a tassel of gold thread. The tassel is worn on the right side until a degree has been conferred; it is then worn on the left. Commencement begins and ends with the academic procession, led by the chief marshal carrying the mace. The mace traces its origins to the Roman fasces, a bundle of rods bound together around an ax with the blade projecting, which was carried before magistrates as an emblem of authority. The ceremony officially begins with the placing of the mace before the graduates and ends when the chief marshal retrieves it and leads the recession. The color guard follows the marshal, with the candidates for degrees marching behind in reverse order of seniority—certificate, associate, and bachelor's first, master's next and doctoral third. The faculty follows, also proceeding in reverse order from assistant to full professor. The final division of the procession is the platform party, composed of academic deans, administrative officers, trustees, honorary degree recipients and the president.

Throughout their long and proud history, universities have retained and cherished strong ties to their ceremonial roots. The faculties and graduates have gloried in the rich imagery and colorful panoply associated with commencement, one of the oldest continuing rituals in the Western world.

Your hood should be worn draped around your neck with the largest portion of the hood hanging down your back. The velvet border, which indicates your specific field of study, should be showing on the outside. The velvet should fold under on the lower back to allow the colors of your College or University to show. To keep your hood from being too tight against your neck, there is a cord on the front to help secure it to a shirt button or to pin to a blouse or dress. Master and Doctor hoods also have a cord and button in the back to prevent your hood from slipping off your shoulders.

MD graduates who are members of Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) or the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) have received honors cords which should be worn as part of their academic regalia. The AΩA honor cord is green, for medicine, with a mixed strand of white for the humanities and gold for science. The GHHS honor cord is white for humanism. Honors cords should be worn on top of a graduate's gown and hood, draped around the back of the neck with the ends laid down the front.

Gregory J. Fulchiero, MD *

Glenn H. Gallow, MD *

Harry A. Glassman, MD

Robert J. Goldberg, PhD *

Kenneth W. Graf, MD

Jonathan F. Hahn, MD

Su C. K. Hain-Brackman, MD

Walter L. Harrison, MD *

Mae B. Hultin, MD

Victor E. Iacovoni, MD

Joseph E. Imbriglia Jr., MD

Thomas A. Javian Jr., MD

Joan Kane, MD

Alan K. Ketover, MD

Jeffrey S. Kezis, MD

Thomas S. Kim, MD

Jeffry I. Komins, MD

Charles A. Kosove, MD

S. David Krimins, MD

Douglas Michael Lanes, MD

John F. Lechner, PhD

Stephen P. Lerman, PhD *

Alexander Lewis III, MD

Edward M. Lipski, MD

Louise M. Lisi, MD

Preston R. Lotz, MD

John D. Lucey, MD

Theodore J. Matulewicz, MD

Michael A. Matus, MD

Robert M. McClellan, MD

Nancy McEnerney, MD

James I. McMillen, MD

Robert G. Meltzer, MD

Stephen E. Mitteldorf, MD

Sylvester L. Mobley, MD *

Kenneth L. Mummert, MD

Norman Mutchnick, MD

Thomas S. Newmark, MD

Charles J. Olney, MD *

Thomas J. Parente, MD *

Kathleen Julg Paris, MD

Donald Petroski, MD

Richard M. Pino, PhD

Patricia A. Powers, PhD *

H. Jack Pyhel, MD

Geoffrey P. Radoff, MD

Jerald H. Ratner, MD

Howard B. Reiser, MD

Mary Ann Renzi-Gentry, MD

Michael Rhodes, MD

Stanley E. Richter, MD

Stephen V. Rigberg, MD *

James B. J. Rondina, MD

Eric P. Rosen, MD

Stanley A. Rosenberg, MD

Elliot M. Rudnitzky, MD

Robert G. Sanford, MD

Lyle T. Saylor, MD

Joan Emma Hurlock, MD

Laura Sue Inselman, MD

Martha W. Johnson, MD *

Kathleen Susan Ladas, MD

Carol Lee Lake, MD

Gertrude S. Lefavour, MD

Barbara Carole Lipschitz, MD

Winona Rosa Mackey, MD

Amra Malila, PhD

Sandra Deborah Mann, MD

Margitta Regina Maurer, MD

Joyce Anne McCaffrey, MD

Kathleen M. McCarten, MD

Susan V. McLeer, MD

Geraldine R. Newman, PhD

Ida Jean Newton, MD *

Winifred Pack, MD *

Mary Franklin Paulus, MD

Maria Supko Plotzker, MD

Karen R. Pohutsky, MD

Rose Angeline Recco-Esposito, MD

Gina L. Rosenberg, MD

Henrietta Kotlus Rosenberg, MD

Reiko Russin, MD

Barbara A. Schindler, MD

Carol Ann Sheridan, MD *

Paramjit Kaur Singh, PhD

Clare C. Siu, MD

Catherine Frances Sladowski, MD *

Kristine Soly, MD

Barbara Starrett, MD

Susan Sheiman Steremberg, MD *

Dr. Katherine A. High, a hematologist by training, began her career studying the molecular basis of blood coagulation and the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of bleeding disorders. Her pioneering bench-to-bedside studies of gene therapy for hemophilia led to a series of studies that characterized the human immune response to gene delivery vectors.

Her work evolved to encompass clinical translation of genetic therapies for multiple inherited disorders, and, as the director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. High assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists and researchers working to discover new gene and cell therapies for genetic diseases and to facilitate rapid translation of preclinical discoveries into clinical application

At CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. High was an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and held an endowed chair at the medical school. In 2013, Spark Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Philadelphia, was formed based on programs that Dr. High had led at Children's Hospital and, in 2014, she joined Spark full time as president and head of research and development. In 2019, Spark was acquired by Roche.

While at Spark, Dr. High led the team that achieved the first FDA approval of a gene therapy for a genetic disease in the U.S., for a rare form of congenital blindness, and led the development of a gene therapy for hemophilia B that is now in late-phase testing.

Dr. High served a five-year term on the FDA Advisory Committee on Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapies and is a past-president of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). She received her AB in chemistry from Harvard University, an MD from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and business certification from the UNC Business School Management Institute for Hospital Administrators. She currently serves on the board of directors of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) and Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY), and on the board of trustees of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

She is the recipient of many honors and awards, is the author of more than 200 scientific papers, and holds multiple issued patents on gene therapy. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (U.S.), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians (London). She is currently a visiting professor at Rockefeller University in New York.

For her lifelong commitment to pioneering cures for genetic diseases, Drexel is proud to confer upon Dr. Katherine A. High the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Easton Hospital
Farhad Elmi, MD
Department of Medicine

Friends Hospital
Mitali Patnaik, MD, FAPA
Department of Psychiatry

Mercy Catholic Medical Center
Rajesh Thirumaran, MD, MRCP (UK)
Department of Medicine

UPMC Pinnacle
Carlos L. Cream, MD, PhD
Department of Medicine

Reading Hospital - Tower Health
Erica John, MD
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

St. Francis Medical Center
Sara L. Wallach, MD
Department of Medicine

THE DIANA J. EGAN AWARD
For excellence in clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology:
Alison Talia Gruber

THE SOCIETY FOR ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE AWARD
For excellence in Emergency Medicine:
Hayden Jacob Schenker

THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AWARD
For excellence in Family Medicine:
Charles Raymond Fencil
For excellence in Community and Preventive Medicine:
Camille Nakita Singh

THE EVA FERNANDEZ FOX AWARD
For the graduating senior who best demonstrates personal integrity, stability, responsibility and loyalty to the College of Medicine:
Lauren Alyson Skerritt

THE WILLIAM GREGG AWARD
Graduation prize for Humanitarianism in Care of Pediatric Patients:
Brittany Kathleen Ashe

THE LESTER J. GROVERMAN, MD MEMORIAL AWARD
For outstanding clinical and academic performance in Hematology and Oncology:
Gregory D. Whitehill

THE BEATRICE STERLING HOLLANDER, MD, WMC '41 MEMORIAL AWARD
To the student in the graduating class who shows promise of leadership, high character, and dedication to service:
Colleen Franconi
Read Colleen's story.

THE RITA G. JACOBS AWARD
For excellence and compassion in Anesthesiology and Pain Management:
Alexandra Zoraian

THE ROBERT F. JOHNSTON MEMORIAL AWARD
For excellence in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine:
Sofia Dr Vos Shaikh

THE EICHI K. KOIWAI, MD, HU '47 AWARD
For an outstanding performance during the Pathology Clerkship:
Nicholas Gee Tong

THE JOSEPH A. LANGBORD MEMORIAL PRIZE
For a graduating senior who best exemplifies the qualities of humanitarianim in the practice of medicine:
Camille Nakita Singh

THE WILIAM LIKOFF, MD AWARD
For distinction in the care of medical patients and commitment to academic excellence:
Kirpal Singh Kochar

THE DANIEL MASON, MD HU '44 AWARD
For Cardiovascular clinical work:
Krista Ann Vadaketh

THE MEDICAL HUMANITIES AWARD
Sona Hurtz
Rohit Kumar Mukherjee

THE DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE AWARD
For excellence in Renal and Electrolyte studies:
Camille Genevieve
Marie Giraud
Read Marie's story.
For excellence in Internal Medicine and Cardiology:
Mohammed Sahir Haji
For clinical excellence in Medicine:
Avkash J. Patel
For clinical excellence in Medicine:
Sean Patrick Flynn
For clinical excellence in Medicine:
Connor James McLaughlin

THE DEYLAN C. MOORE AWARD
For leadership, humanism, and service to the student body and the community:
Desiree Nicole Pinto

THE ALMA D. MORANI, MD WMC '31 AWARD IN GROSS ANATOMY
For excellence in Anatomy during the senior year:
William Frederick Foos, Jr.
For excellence in Anatomy during the senior year:
Matthew Solomon Simon

THE DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY AWARD
For excellence in Neurology:
Brian Rogers Stocksdale
For excellence in Neurology:
Grace Marcy Anya Venezia

THE DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY AWARD
For overall academic excellence in the Obstetrics and Gynecology:
Natalie DiCenzo
For academic excellence in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical Clerkship:
Brigid Sheridan Mumford
For leadership in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology:
Carolyn Diana Rose Brookhart

THE OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AWARD
For service to the medical school and to the student body:
Gregory D. Whitehill
For service to the medical school and to the student body:
Michael S. March
For service to the senior class and to the medical school:
Karina Preeti Verma
For service to the senior class and to the medical school:
Roshni Priya Singh

THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS, PHILADELPHIA BRANCH AWARD
For performance and leadership in Family Medicine:
Leanna Nicole Brooks

THE ELISE REID CARRINGTON PRIZE
For accomplishment, and outstanding leadership and service to student body:
Connor James McLaughlin

THE RICHARD SHUMAN AWARD
For excellence in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine:
Robert Steven Freund

THE DR. LEE WINSTON SILVER AWARD
For excellence in Pediatrics:
Isabella Marie Hanulik

• Richard A. Greenawalt '66
  Chair
• David Griffith
• Mauricio Gutierrez
• Richard A. Hayne
  Vice Chair
• Mary R. "Nina" Henderson '72
  Vice Chair
• Richard C. Ill '73
• Patricia H. Imbesi '69
• Joseph H. Jacovini, Esq., HD '04
• Thomas R. Kline, Esq.
• Lawrence M. Korman
• J. Michael Lawrie '77
• Raphael C. Lee, MD '75
• Patrick S. McGonigal '86
• Matthew S. Naylor '12
• Denis P. O'Brien '87
• Kevin J. O'Hara '83
• Richelle P. Parham '91
• Charles P. Pizzi
• Thomas M. Rampulla '94
• Virginia S. Rose
• Stan Silverman '69, '74
  Vice Chair
• Joseph P. Ujobai '84
• Charles K. Valutas '73
• Michael J. Williams '80, '83