Students,
Faculty, Residents, Alumni, Staff, Board of Trustees and Friends,
Yesterday was truly a
day of celebration for Salus, our graduates, their families and our faculty. A
lump always forms in my throat when I walk on stage at the beginning of the ceremony.
When I look out at how we fill the Kimmel Center and see how many people we’ve
touched as a university, I feel a sense of pride shared by everyone celebrating
with us. The accomplishments of our students, residents, faculty and staff are
enviable - and we are all very lucky to be part of an institution that prepares
young professionals to go out into the world to help others. I sincerely thank
our faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees for participating in the event.
Yesterday we also
celebrated the accomplishments of our largest graduating class ever, which
includes our inaugural Speech-Language Pathology and Optometry’s Accelerated Scholars programs. I want to personally thank Dr. Jim Caldwell and his staff
for organizing yet another wonderful commencement ceremony. Hours of work
goes into this with the culmination being what many of us had the privilege of
experiencing yesterday. Congratulations to everyone involved!
his week we also
honored many of our graduating professionals at the University’s annual awards
luncheon. It was wonderful to see so many of our graduates and their families
being acknowledged for their accomplishments. That same day our second year
Occupational Therapy students educated many at their Capstone poster session. The
depth and quality of their work was outstanding and I think everyone who had to
opportunity to peruse the posters walked away with a much better understanding
of what occupational therapists do for their patients. They also experienced a great
deal of pride in the creativity and professionalism of our students and their
faculty mentors.
Earlier in the week,
on Tuesday evening, we had the opportunity to recognize 34 optometry
students who completed their Advanced Studies programs. In addition to earning their traditional OD
degrees, they also earned certificates in subjects such as binocular vision,
neuro-ophthalmic disease, contact lenses and other specialties. Most students
took an additional four to five credit hours to make this happen. Thanks to Dr.
Vitek, her staff and our subject matter expert faculty members for making this
happen!
It’s been a busy week
for everyone. Please don’t forget the significance of this Memorial Day weekend
as we look forward to our three days off. We all need to pause and give
thanks to all those who fought and served, with some making the ultimate
sacrifice, so we can enjoy the freedoms we have.
Have a safe and
restful weekend.
Mike
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