High school and college students, advisors and parents were invited to a "Dental School Admissions Symposium" sponsored by the Office of Admissions and Student Recruitment at UMDNJ New Jersey Dental School. The symposium, held at the school’s Delta Dental Conference Center in Newark, provided students with information about dentistry as a career, degree programs, the admissions process, financial aid and internship opportunities.
On May 21, the University graduated the largest class in its history during the 38th Annual Commencement Ceremony at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands.
In his welcoming remarks, Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., president of UMDNJ, told the 1,770 graduates that the day was a celebration of their persistent study, hard work, passion and commitment to the health professions and that he was confident that they will help to fix the American health care system and make the world a better place. Dr. Owen, who presided over the ceremony, also conferred honorary degrees on John Nash, Ph.D., winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics, and Dr. Robert L. Hendren, a national leader in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Dr. Hendren told the graduates that they are facing a future in which they will be charged with using a different paradigm to bring health care into a new era. Physicians are increasingly looking at the health of the body as a whole and that view will influence the development of a more collaborative approach to health.
The graduates also heard from Robert Del Tufo, Esq., chairman of the UMDNJ Board of Trustees, who commended the graduates for making the decision to dedicate their lives to the care of others.
In recognition of National Nurses Week, observed each year from May 6 to May 12, UMDNJ-University Hospital (UH) and UMDNJ-School of Nursing (SN) sponsored a community health fair at the JFK Recreation Center in Newark. More than 75 senior adults received free screenings for diabetes, hypertension and depression, and free counseling for exercise, nutrition and medication management.
The fair was one of several events, including Nursing Innovations Day, which featured research presentations and poster displays highlighting innovative nursing practices. UMDNJ received proclamations from the State of New Jersey and from the City of Newark commemorating the critical role played by nurses.
Embracing Humanism, Today's Hope and Tomorrow's Doctors was the theme of "Student Doctors for a Day," held on May 10 at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) for middle and high-school students. Coordinated by Leila Mady, a first-year medical student at NJMS, the program helped youths explore careers in medicine and dentistry by participating in hands-on educational activities.
Dr. Dorian Wilson, a transplant surgeon and director of the Healthcare Foundation Center for Humanism and Medicine at NJMS, was the featured speaker. During a special Grand Rounds, the students rotated from one healthcare station to another and met medical and dental students. A community-service component was added to the program so teens could make care packages for U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
This program was inspired by Dr. Gloria Bachmann, director of the Women's Health Institute at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Susan Flynn-Hollander, Esq., a trustee on the Board of the Foundation of UMDNJ.
The Class of 2008 at UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) presented "Simply Sinatra: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra and his Music," which featured fourth-year student Ryan Mascio. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the CARES (Child Abuse Research Education and Service) Institute at SOM.
A seasoned performer with an entertaining personality, Mascio expertly copies Sinatra's smooth voice and signature sound. He is an officer in the United States Army and received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree at UMDNJ’s 2008 Commencement. He will begin a residency in pediatric medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
