Pride in Our UTHSC Newest Graduates: Celebrating their Accomplishments in Anticipation of their Great Future Contributions 

Dear Colleagues-Friends,

This past Monday and yesterday in Memphis, we sent off with great pride the majority of our Health Science Center graduates for the spring of 2022. As the new chancellor at UTHSC, I had the immense pleasure and first-time privilege to confer degrees at our tradition-laden and inspirational commencement ceremonies for 845 graduates across our six colleges – Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. These were awesome and awe-inspiring events, with additional pride in the recognition of military honors to four graduates and also the poignant recognition of two students who sadly passed away before completing their studies. Each commencement was beautifully choreographed by our Chief Student Affairs Officer, Dr. Charlie Snyder, and a team of student and faculty affairs professionals – our thanks to all. Also, commencement for 157 graduates of our Audiology and Speech Pathology program in Knoxville is set for May 18.  

After more than two years of necessary distance, it was so heartening to be able to congratulate our graduates face-to-face on their achievements and perseverance during this time of great disruption and to celebrate their success in the presence of their families and friends.

The ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations of the last two years are inevitably a defining chapter in the stories of our recent health sciences graduates. Their professionalism and resilience will serve them well in all their future endeavors and as they aspire to become “the greatest generation” of health care clinicians and leaders.

We were honored by the presence of the UT System President Randy Boyd. In his compelling remarks, President Boyd passed along wisdom he’d received from a remarkable statesman in reminding our graduates that their greatest accomplishments are ahead of them and that they should “dream big”. He exhorted our junior colleagues to live their lives in ways that make the world a better place, that make UT proud of what they do, and that inspire others.

Our stellar graduates now fan out across Tennessee and the world as new health care clinicians and scientists ready to do just that – as they leverage both their skills and humanity to tackle Tennessee’s biggest problems in our communities all across the great state of Tennessee and beyond. They will be privileged to become part of the lives of patients and their families and they will be viewed as leaders in their communities.  

Like the generations of UT alumni before them, UTHSC has provided our graduates with outstanding training that will stand the test of time. We are also so proud of, and grateful for, our UTHSC deans, their leadership teams, and the entire faculty and staff who have helped prepare these students for their new roles through teaching, mentoring, and a myriad of other ways. You have supported our junior colleagues throughout their education from when they were applying to our programs and first arrived on our Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis campuses, through the ups and downs of being a student, to now when we proudly recognize their accomplishments. We thank you for all you have done for these graduates and continue to do for our current and future health sciences students. 

We offer our heartfelt congratulations to our newest alumni who now join a family of more than 422,000 UT alumni who live in Tennessee, across the nation, and around the world. Our newest alumni will become life-long stakeholders in the image and reputation of our great university.  

All-in-all, our commencements were a powerful reminder of how noble our academic mission is. I felt very fortunate to be among our faculty at these inspirational ceremonies, just as I also feel privileged every day to serve you.

Training tomorrow’s clinical workforce is an immense privilege and we can look forward to celebrating all that our newest alumni will accomplish in their careers as future leaders in health care, science, and society.

With great pride and gratitude,

Peter F. Buckley, MD 

Chancellor 

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