Penn Dental Medicine Marks 147th Commencement with the Class of 2025
Philadelphia – Penn Dental Medicine celebrated the accomplishments of the Class of 2025 at its 147th Commencement ceremony, conferring Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degrees to 200 students, along with 27 advanced graduate dental degrees that included the Doctor of Science in Dentistry, Master of Science in Oral Biology, Master of Advanced Dental Studies, Master of Oral Health Sciences, and Master of Oral & Population Health. The two commencement ceremonies– one for the advanced graduate degree graduates followed by one for the DMD graduates – were held May 19 at Penn’s Irvine Auditorium.
“Congratulations to the Class of 2025. You are all graduating as accomplished scholars and clinicians, and I know you will be great leaders in your communities,” said Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean, Dr. Mark S. Wolff, in his remarks. “We welcome you into our profession, and we ask you to go make people smile.”
This year’s commencement speaker was Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd. Dr. Ginsburg, Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine, is the Medical Director for Covenant House, Pennsylvania, a care system that serves homeless and marginalized youth in Philadelphia. He is also Co-Director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication, which promotes the health, character, and well-being of adolescents through education, research, and advocacy. In his remarks, he reminded graduates that “there is a reason we call this commencement” and encouraged them to begin their career journey as “intentional healers.”
Along with the guest speaker and remarks from Dean Wolff, the DMD ceremony also included remarks from the Class of 2025 President, Dr. Karam Alyashooa. In addition, Dr. Sean Meehan, Assistant Dean and Chief Dental Officer at Penn Dental Medicine, commissioned the members of the Class of 2025 who will be joining the military; Dr. Meehan is a retired Captain of the U.S. Naval Dental Corps.
Faculty participating in the hooding and presentation of the DMD diplomas included Dr. Uri Hangorsky, Associate Dean for Student Affairs; Dr. Faizan Alawi, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Dr. Roopali Kulkarni, Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine; Dr. Miriam R. Robbins, Director, Care Center for Persons with Disabilities; and Dr. Frank Smithgall, Clinical Associate Professor of Restorative Dentistry. Dr. Shaun Lavalle, Assistant Professor of Clinical Restorative Dentistry, led the DMD Class of 2025 in reciting the Penn Dental Medicine Professional Pledge.
Faculty participating in the master’s and DScD ceremony included Dr. Dana Graves, Vice Dean for Scholarship and Research and Director of the DScD program, with Dean Wolff also presenting remarks. Those graduates were hooded by their faculty mentors.
Both ceremonies, which were live streamed and recorded, can be viewed online:
View advanced graduate dental degrees ceremony »
View the full album of photos on our Facebook Page.