2008 Commencement

Five of the 308 students who graduated on May 3, 2008

Institute graduates largest class in history

The MGH Institute of Health Professions held the largest Commencement ceremony in its 31-year history when 308 students graduated under a tent on the historic grounds of Harvard Medical School on Saturday, May 3, 2008.

The school also inaugurated its fifth president when board of trustees chair George Thibault officially named Janis P. Bellack as its new leader.

Dr. Bellack’s installation comes on the heels of the recent US News & World Report rankings in which the entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy program is tied for 7th in the country, and the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in the Communication Sciences & Disorders Program is ranked 24th nationally. Both programs are first among New England schools in their disciplines. Also, the school broke into the ranks of the annual Boston Business Journal Graduate School listing, ranking as the 25th largest graduate school in Greater Boston.

A nationally-recognized expert in the health professions, Dr. Bellack told the overflow crowd of more than 2,000 that the school’s new graduates play a crucial role in the future of health care.

“I firmly believe that every one of you graduating here today has both the capacity and the commitment to be a leader,” Dr. Bellack said. “As you go out into the practice world, we expect you to embrace this special commitment – not only to be and do your personal best as a health care practitioner, but to lead and to be a leader.”

The graduation was the culmination of several events that week celebrating Dr. Bellack’s appointment.

Ed O'Neil talking at the President's Lecture

Ann W. Caldwell President's Lecture

Dr. Edward H. O’Neil, director of the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco, was the keynote speaker at the Ann W. Caldwell President’s Lecture on Friday afternoon, May 2, 2008.

Dr. O’Neil, wearing his signature bowtie, told a crowd of faculty, staff, friends, and graduates and their families that the country’s healthcare system needs to shift from the current acute care method of treating patients in hospitals to managing patients in their own communities.

“If this doesn’t happen, health care will be worse and much more expensive,” Dr. O’Neil warned the audience, which was huddled under a tent on the lawn of the Commandant’s House to ward off the rain.

Dr. O’Neil also noted that Americans should view such a change as an opportunity to not endanger the rest of the country’s economy, and challenged people to alter their eating and lifestyle habits in order to live longer and healthier.

Following the speech, directors from the Institute's five academic programs presented the annual awards to graduating students in Clinical Investigation, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Medical Imaging, Nursing, and Physical Therapy.