The graduation ceremony for NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Class of 2020 was held via video conference call due to COVID-19.
Photo: NYU Langone Staff
On Wednesday, May 20, NYU Grossman School of Medicine held a virtual graduation ceremony celebrating the accomplishments and success of 122 new physicians via a combination of Webex meetings and YouTube. The Class of 2020 includes 52 students who chose to graduate early to help treat people with 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a separate ceremony on April 3. Katherine Hochman, MD, associate chair for quality in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Health, gave the keynote address.
Robert I. Grossman, MD, chief executive officer of NYU Langone Health and dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and Kenneth G. Langone, chair of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health, also addressed the class, as did Steven B. Abramson, MD, executive vice president and vice dean of education, faculty, and academic affairs, Linda R. Tewksbury, MD, associate dean of student affairs, and student speaker elect Mark S. Cort, MD.
“In such altered reality, today’s unprecedented ceremony may be electronic, but the essence of commencement—the rite of passage from educated student to revered physician—is immutable,” said Dr. Grossman, referring to the fact that the ceremony took place virtually due to COVID-19. “I have faith that your career voyage will be bright. This class is so gifted—please use those talents wisely to make our world better!”
About the Class of 2020
The Class of 2020 comprises 122 students, all receiving MD degrees. The class includes 18 students graduating from the three-year MD pathway.
The three-year MD pathway was developed as a key initiative of NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Curriculum for the 21st Century. This initiative allows medical students an accelerated pathway to medical education, providing early access to faculty mentors, opportunities to conduct research, and conditional acceptance into any one of our 20 residency programs.
Additionally, 22 students received the following dual degrees:
- 1 MD/MS in biomedical informatics degree
- 7 MD/MBA in general management degrees
- 6 MD/PhD degrees through the Medical Scientist Training Program
- 3 MD/MPH in global health degrees
- 5 MD/MS in clinical investigation degrees
Two degrees were conferred with honors. In addition, 20 members of the class were inducted to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, and 12 members of the class were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
