Good afternoon,
and welcome to the 46th commencement exercises,
and the first Virtual Degree Conferral Ceremony
of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
I do not need to tell this group that graduation is one of the most exciting and magnificent
events in our academic year.
I also do not need to tell you
that I never expected, and I know you never expected,
to be celebrating your accomplishments virtually.
It is, however, the best we can do right now
and it does not, in any way, diminish the magnitude of what you have achieved.
That being said, I want to start by first greeting
and thanking the families and loved ones of the graduating class
even if you could not join us today.
Congratulations on everything that you have done
that has allowed your medical student
to get through four grueling years
and to be on the launching pad of a wonderful, fulfilling career.
You should be very proud of their accomplishments,
and of your own.
I also want to greet and thank the medical faculty and staff that are here today.
You have played a major role in developing these young physicians.
Without your insight, guidance, and mentorship
and wisdom they would not be where they are today.
I also want to thank President Paxson
for joining us today
and for agreeing to address the class.
If this had been a traditional Commencement
President Paxson would not be able to join us
so I guess we can all point to at least
one good thing that has come from COVID-19.
With that, I would like to formally introduce President Christina Paxson,
Brown University’s 19th President.
President Paxson is a graduate of Swarthmore College.
She earned her Ph.D. degree
in economics from Columbia University.
Prior to her appointment at Brown,
Dr. Paxson was dean of the Woodrow Wilson School
of International and Public Affairs
and the Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
While at Princeton, Dr. Paxson founded the Center for Health and Wellbeing,
an interdisciplinary research center in the Woodrow Wilson School
for which she served as director until 2009.
In 2012, President Paxson became the 19th
President of Brown University.
She has been the principal investigator
on a number of research projects supported by the National Institutes of Health,
many dealing with the impact of things
on childhood health.
She has authored and co-authored numerous journal articles,
and has been the Senior Editor of the journal The Future of Children,
she was elected vice president
of the American Economic Association in 2012,
and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
In October 2017, she was inducted into
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary academic societies.
Since her arrival at Brown, she has accomplished
a number of remarkable and noteworthy initiatives,
including the launching of Building on Distinction:
A New Plan for Brown which has laid out the strategic plan
for the institution for the next decade.
She also launched a $3 billion philanthropic campaign called BrownTogether
and played a major role in the development and implementation
of Brown’s comprehensive Pathways to Diversity
and Inclusion Action Plan.
I can also say that President Paxson
has been an amazing supporter
of the Medical School and its affiliated
hospital partners during my entire time in Providence.
It is my pleasure to introduce to you,
Christina H. Paxson,
Brown University’s 19th President.