The UMass Chan Medical School community will officially start the academic year with its annual, weeklong Convocation celebration taking place Sept. 6-12.
Most events will be held in the Albert Sherman Center Auditorium and do not require registration unless otherwise noted.
Festivities kick off on Friday, Sept. 6, with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony, welcoming the new class of medical students into the medical community. The event emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate patient care. A white coat is placed on each student’s shoulders by two people: an individual significant in the student’s personal and/or professional development, chosen by the student, and the student’s Learning Community mentor, who represents the value system of the Medical School and the profession the students are about to enter. The ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. at the Hanover Theatre in downtown Worcester.
Tickets for guests are required for attendance at the White Coat Ceremony and can be obtained through the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs.
At a glance |
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On Monday, Sept. 9, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing students in the Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP) program will be ceremonially presented with their nursing pins and welcomed into the nursing community by campus leaders. The program begins at 5 p.m.
The GEP program, for individuals with baccalaureate degrees in fields other than nursing, leads first to registered nurse licensure and then to advanced nursing specialties. The pinning ceremony symbolizes completion of the courses required for taking the licensure exam.
At noon on Tuesday, Sept. 10, the 12th annual LGBTA Convocation Celebration, sponsored by the Diversity and Inclusion Office, will be held virtually. Speakers include Judy Hanlon, pastor of Hadwen Park Congregational Church, co-founder of LGBT Asylum Task Force in Worcester, and member of the Southern New England Conference Immigration, Refugee and Asylum Task Team; and Al Green, ministry director of the LGBT Asylum Task Force.
Also on Sept. 10, second-year Doctor of Nursing Practice students from the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing who are entering their clinical years will be presented with their white coats during the Transition into Clinical Practice ceremony. The white coat is a symbol of humanism, collaboration and scientific excellence in health care. The event starts at 5 p.m.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences community will recognize the accomplishments of its future colleagues. The Recognition Ceremony salutes students who have successfully completed their qualifying exam and are proceeding with thesis research in the lab of their faculty advisor, an important milestone in the educational and professional development of basic science and clinical research graduate students signifying the transition from classroom-based learning to candidacy for a doctoral degree. The Recognition Ceremony starts at 3 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 12, starting at 4 p.m., Chancellor Michael F. Collins will present his annual Convocation address to the UMass Chan community in a ceremony celebrating faculty. Chancellor’s Medals for Distinguished Teaching, Distinguished Scholarship, Distinguished Service and Distinguished Clinical Excellence will be presented.
Immediately after Convocation, the following faculty members will be honored and invested as named professors:
Daryl A. Bosco, PhD, professor of neurology and biochemistry & molecular biotechnology and associate vice chair of research for the Department of Neurology, has been named the Paul J. DiMare Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease. Dr. Bosco is a pioneer in neurodegenerative disease research, with a focus on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia
Kevin Donahue, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, has been named the David J. and Barbara D. Milliken Professor of Preventive Cardiology. A recognized pioneer in gene therapy for cardiac arrythmias, Dr. Donahue devised recombinant adenovirus and adeno-associated virus gene therapy to potentially deliver anti-arrhythmic therapies to surgical patients.
Dale L. Greiner, PhD, professor of molecular medicine and co-director of the Diabetes Center of Excellence, has been appointed the Herman G. Berkman Chair in Diabetes Care Innovation. Dr. Greiner is a pioneer in the development of humanized mouse models, having created the world’s most frequently used immune-deficient mouse model for basic, translational and clinical research.
John E. Harris, MD, PhD’05, chair and professor of dermatology, has been named the Lambi and Sarah Adams Chair in Genetic Research. Dr. Harris is an internationally recognized leader in the field of autoimmunity and is considered one of the world’s preeminent experts in vitiligo.
Elinor K. Karlsson, PhD, associate professor of molecular medicine, has been appointed the Dr. Eileen L. Berman and Stanley I. Berman Foundation Chair in Biomedical Research. Dr. Karlsson is a recognized leader and pioneer in the field of comparative genomics and evolutionary biology in both humans and animals.
Danny G. Winder, PhD, chair and professor of neurobiology, has been named the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair I. Dr. Winder is an internationally recognized research leader focused on the molecular basis of brain abnormalities in substance use disorders and obesity.
Jeannette M. Wolfe, MD, professor of emergency medicine, has been appointed to the Joy McCann Professorship for Women in Medicine. Dr. Wolfe is the first UMass Chan-Baystate faculty member to receive an endowed position and is considered a national expert in the field of sex- and gender-based medicine.
The LGBTA Convocation Welcome Celebration will be held on Zoom; all other events will be live streamed on the UMass Chan Facebook and YouTube pages and the recordings will remain available after the events.
