On Friday, May 8, Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine and Nursing and the Basic Sciences celebrated students earning degrees. They will have the opportunity to return to the Vanderbilt University campus in May 2021 for the University-wide official Commencement ceremony.

At commencement ceremonies for Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduates last week, Dean Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, relinquished his usual role as commencement speaker and bestowed it to outgoing Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education, Bonnie Miller, MD, MMHC.

Dean Linda Norman, DSN, told the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s 2019 graduating class that she is optimistic about the future of health care because of them.

Vanderbilt University's 2019 Commencement ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. Friday, May 10.

In his message to the class of 2018 at Commencement last Friday, Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, spoke of the increasingly high cost of health care, and the role the new graduates might play in bringing it under control as they venture into their new careers.

Last week’s Commencement marked a milestone for Vanderbilt University School of Nursing when it awarded 73 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees, the greatest number since the program began in 2008.