GSDM Class of 2011 Celebrated with Unique and Personal Ceremony
On Friday, May 20, GSDM honored new graduates at the School’s 47th annual Convocation. The late afternoon ceremony boasted 185 DMD and 76 postdoctoral student participants.
Dean of Marsh Chapel Reverend Dr. Robert Allan Hill began the ceremony with an invocation. Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter followed by welcoming the graduating students, family and friends, and faculty and staff adding, “You should feel very proud to be a member of such a prestigious graduating class. The Class of 2011’s list of accomplishments is long. You have experienced both challenging times and exciting times, and I know that when you look back on your experience at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, it will be these good times and the superb education that you received that will stand out in your minds.”
Valedictorian Susan Snyder gave a moving speech which was accented by her performance of Claude Debussy’s Claire de Lune on the piano. She said, “Each of us is leaving here with the tools and background to continue to become an excellent Doctor of Dental Medicine. You not only represent Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, but your chosen profession. Practice dentistry in a way that may give dentistry the good name it deserves. Honor, fairness, quality, care, kindness, whatever description you want to give it that gives the dental profession the seriousness and meaning it deserves.”
The Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching was presented during the ceremony to Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Predoctoral Periodontology Dr. Neal Fleisher.
“Dr. Neal Fleisher is a proud 1984 DMD and 1986 CAGS in Periodontology alumnus of our own Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine,” said Dean Hutter. “Dr. Fleisher began his career at the Dental School immediately following his graduation. He has also maintained a private periodontics practice in the greater Boston area for more than 25 years. His contributions to the field of dental medicine are numerous, but his contributions to the School are even greater. He truly personifies the Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching and it is with great pleasure that I present him with this award.”
“I am here today as much because of the efforts of others as compared to my own efforts,” said Dr. Fleisher. “My teachers showed me so much support, and allowed me to move at my pace. All were instrumental not just because they taught me dentistry, but because I also learned how to teach, retaining their finer points. I steal from each of them, discarding some things, mixing and matching others, and then calling it my own.”
Commencement Speaker, poet, and Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Thomas Moran addressed the graduates next. He said, “You who have come to this day of accomplishment have demonstrated the necessary command of dentistry, no small triumph. For this, you will be highly regarded in your lifetime. But let them say of you something more, that you were compassionate, that you shared your time, that you listened. That you were earnest when attention was called for, a mentor when counsel was asked for, a source of solace when comfort was needed.” Dr. Moran closed his remarks with a poem written especially for his students titled, “Passages.”
A small excerpt:
“Our shared wish,
only to arrive at this place,
evoked in a dream.
Our names are so many.
Our way’s end, begins here.”
Following Dr. Moran’s speech Class of 2011 President and Vice President Stephanie Trahan and Bradley Woland ascended the stage to present the 2011 Class Gift. It was also announced that Chief Commencement Marshall and Professor Dr. Carl McManama had generously agreed to match this year’s gift.
Added Dean Hutter, “Words cannot describe the significance of this gift and what it means to me and our School. You have now set a precedent for future classes to emulate and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The graduates of 2011 then walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. Following this Dean Hutter brought the ceremony to close adding, “As you look beside you, behind you, and in front of you–realize that these special individuals have been your support, your comrades, your colleagues, your friends and your family for the time of your tenure at Boston University. Protect them, stay close to them–the experiences you have shared will remain with you for the rest of your lives. You will always be a graduate of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine; and you are now an official alumnus.”
Photos from the reception following Commencement are available on facebook and flickr . Additional Commencement photos will be available at a later date.