For this year’s graduates, a bit of pomp and controversy

For Associate Dean Ruth J. Katz, J.D., M.P.H., the Class of 2001 will always be her first class. As its chosen speaker at Commencement this year, Katz recalled arriving at Yale in 1997 with this year’s graduates and learning with them. “I practiced on you as a rookie dean,” she told the 79 graduates. “We experimented together and discovered the marvels of this place and identified some of its … let’s just call them imperfections. We worked in small groups and went beyond simple problem-solving and critical thinking and helped to make significant institutional reforms. We sang, we danced and we laughed our way through the Second-Year Show.

“The Class of 2001 will always claim a piece of both my heart and my mind,” Katz continued. “I am honored to have been with you from the beginning. I am humbled that you have asked me to be with you in such a meaningful way at the closing.”

The medical school Commencement followed a University-wide ceremony that featured an address by President Bush, a 1968 Yale College alumnus and one of 12 people to receive an honorary doctorate. Sharing the stage with luminaries including actor Sam Waterston, former Treasury Secretary Richard Rubin and Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, M.D., Bush spoke of his years as a Yale undergraduate. Before his arrival, scores of faculty members signed a petition protesting the awarding of the doctorate. They argued that it was too early in Bush’s term for him to have distinguished himself, and they objected to most of his policies, particularly on the environment. Some students agreed, and during the Commencement on Old Campus, they held up protest signs, booed and turned their backs on the president, while others cheered him.

—John Curtis

Medicine Commencement 2001

The following prizes were awarded to School of Medicine faculty and students at Commencement:

Bohmfalk Prize
Emile Boulpaep, M.D.
Kathleen White, M.D.

Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award
Jonathan Gage, M.D.

Leah M. Lowenstein Prize
Gail D’Onofrio, M.D.

Francis Gilman Blake Award
David Coleman, M.D.
Laura Ment, M.D.

Betsy Winters House Staff Award
Stephen Possick, M.D.

Parker Prize
Jessica L. Mega

Miriam Kathleen Dasey Award
Garth N. Graham

Norma Bailey Berniker Prize
Benjamin D. Smith

Dean’s Prize for Community Service
Sharon A. Chekijian
Caroline N. Harada

Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Humanism in Medicine Student Award
Caroline N. Harada
Melissa S. Lee

Campbell Prize
Heather C. Yun

Perkins Prize
Jerry Wu

Merck Book Award
Carl V. Crawford
Michael Z. David

M.D./Ph.D. Award
Matthew H. Levine
Daniel H. Wolf

Connecticut Society of the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Prize
Jennifer M. Lucero

New England Pediatric Society Prize
Patricia L. Birgeneau Prince

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Award
Rockman F. Ferrigno

Department of Surgery Awards of Distinction:
Award for Outstanding Clinical Performance
Ajay V. Maker
Award for Outstanding Research
Matthew A. Gutierrez

Association for Academic Surgery Award
Ryan R. Davies

Connecticut Chapter of American College of Surgeons Prize
Anthony Lemaire

Peter A.T. Grannum Award
Carl V. Crawford

Lauren Weinstein Award
Jennifer M. Lucero

The Courtlandt Van Rensselaer Creed Award
LaLisa A. Anderson
Stephanie A. Boykin

ACP-ASIM Internal Medicine Award
Harry H. Yoon

The Patricia Nez Award
Jennifer M. Lucero

The C. Winternitz Prize in Pathology
Benjamin D. Smith
John C. Tilton

The Ralph W. Ellison Prize
LaLisa A. Anderson

The William and Charlotte Cadbury Award
Michele M. Johnson

The Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories Prize in Women’s Health
Jennifer M. Lucero