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I Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia Commencement Program Twenty-Fourth Annual Commencement The Coliseum May 16, 1992 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia Commencement Program Twenty-Fourth Annual Commencement The Coliseum May 16, 1992 The audience is respectfully asked not to enter onto the tloor of the Coliseum until the ceremony has concluded and all graduates have left the Coliseum tloor. BOARD OF VISITORS Virginia Commonwealth University French H. Moore Jr. , Rector Roger L. Gregory, Vice Rector Clifton L. Peay, Secretary Nina F. Abady Richard A. Arenstein Thomas J. Berenguer Constantine N. Dombalis Rozanne G. Epps Jack H. Ferguson William E. Holland Harry I. Johnson Jr. Richard L. Meador Stuart C. Siegel Clarence L. Townes Jr. Jay M. Weinberg F. Dixon Whitworth Jr. PROGRAM Processional* Virginia Commonwealth University Medley of works by Byrd, Symphonic Wind Ensemble Elgar, Russell, Strauss, Terry L. Austin, Conducting and Tschaikovsky Convocation* Rev. A. Patrick L. Prest, Jr. National Anthem VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble Introduction of Guests Eugene P. Trani, Presi dent Commencemem Address Stewart R. Sutherland Conferring of Honorary Degrees Eugene P. Trani Presentation of Presidential Medallions Eugene P. Trani Conferring of Degrees Eugene P. Trani College of Humanities & Sciences .................... ......... Elske v.P. Smith, Dean School of Allied Health Professions ........... Thomas C. Barker, Dean School of the Ans ......................... .......................... ... Murry N. DePillars, Dean School of Business.. .. .. .............. .................... .. .. ............ Roben P. Trumble, Dean School of Community & Public Affairs .. ................... Carol A. Peterson, Interim Dean School of Dentistry .. .. .......... Lindsay M. Hunt, Jr. , Dean School of Education ............ .. .. .................. ............ John S. Oehler, Jr. , Dean Division of Continuing Studies & Public Service ....... Grace E. Harris, Vice-Provost School of Nursing ................ Nancy F. Langston, Dean School of Pharmacy ........................................................ ................ .. .. ... John S. Ruggiero, Dean School of Social Work . .. ....... Frank R. Baskind, Dean School of Graduate Studies ................ William L. Dewey, Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Affairs School of Pharmacy . ....................... .. ................ John S. Ruggiero, Dean School of Dentistry .. ... .. ... Lindsay M. Hunt, Jr., Dean School of Medicine.. ...................... .. ....... Stephen M. Ayres, Dean Doctor of Philosophy Candidates .......................... .......... William L. Dewey, Associate Provost Hooding by Dean Stephen M. Ayres and Dean Elske v.P. Smith Charge** Rev. A. Patrick L. Prest, Jr. Recessional VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble Medley of Marches by Sousa *The audience may remain seated during the academic procession but will stand for the Convoca­ tion and National Anthem. •• After the Charge, the audience may be seated. Graduates will remain standing for the Recessional. Stewart R. Sutherland Commencement Speaker Recipient, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree As vice-chancellor of the University of London, Stewart Sutherland oversees a mammoth charge, a responsibility that has no U.S. equivalent. Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne holds the ceremonial title of chancellor, while Sutherland's duties are those of the working head of the university. Named to the post in 1990, Sutherland presides over the university's twenty- three schools and colleges, twelve institutes and five associated institutions. The University of London offers the widest range of higher education opportunities in Britain - more than 900 bachelor's degrees, more than 400 master's degrees and unparalleled facilities for advanced research in the United Kingdom. The London School of Economics and Guy's Hospital are also included in the university. The University of London had its origins in the 1820s and 1830s with the creation of University College in Bloomsbury and King's College in the Strand. The onl y two English universities in existence at the time -Oxford and Cambridge - limited entrance to communicant members of the Church of England. In contrast, the founders of University College set out to provide an institution open to all , irrespective of race, creed or political belief. In fact, Sutherland holds master's degrees from the University of Aberdeen, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The Scottish-born and educated vice-chancellor began his career as a lecturer of philosophy at the University of North Wales in 1965 and joined the University of Stirling in 1968. He went on to King's College London as a professorofhi story and philosophy of religion. In 1983, he was elected a fellow at the institution. Sutherland's colleagues explained that their former vice-chancellor was a nuclear physicist while the incoming Sutherland was a religious philosopher. One remarked, "We thought it ironic that we should go from a person making a physical search of the universe to one making a moral search of the universe!" A past-president of the Society for the Study ofTheology and an associate fellow at the Centre for Philosophy at the University of Warwick, Sutherland's publica­ tions include Th e Philosophical Frontiers ofC hristian Theology, God.Jesus and Belief and Faith and Ambiguiry. An ardent fan of theatre and jazz, Sutherland is married and the father of three children. Samuel 0. Thier, M.D. Recipient, Honorary Doctor of Human Letters Degree The president of Brandeis University, Samuel 0. Thier, has dedicated his life to medical education. After completing a residency at Massachusetts General Hos­ pital in 1966, Thier began his academic career teaching at Harvard Medical School. The institutions he has graced read like a who's who of the most stellar medical facilities in the Northeast: University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Johns Hopkins and Brandeis. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Thier completed his undergraduate work in three years at Cornell University and received his medical degree from State University of New York at Syracuse. The list of honors and awards that have been conferred on Thier is also lengthy. His most recent include the San Francisco Medal from the University of California and the American College of Physicians Certificate of Achievement. A former member of the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine, Thier has more than 100 publications to his credit as well as two textbooks. In his successful roles as physician, researcher, administrator and educator, Thier exemplifies the mission of Medical College of Virginia as well as Virginia Commonwealth University. It is with great pleasure that we award him this Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Norman Sisisky Recipient, Honorary Doctor of Humane Leners Degree Norman Sisisky is in his fifth term as a U.S. Representative for Virginia's Fourth Congressional District. He brings to the Congress more than thirty years' experience as a businessman and legislator. Virginia's Fourth District includes portions of eleven counties and eight cities. It also includes some of the largest military facilities in the country. Soon after taking the oath of office in 1983, Sisisky was assigned to the House Committee on Armed Services. The onl y member to serve on four of the committee's permanent subcommittees during the IOI st Congress, Sisisky again has that distinction during the I02nd Congress with assignments on procurement and military nuclear systems; military installations and facilities; seapower and strategic and critical materials; and investigations. Additionally, Sisisky sits on several special advisory panels and early this year was selected to head the newly formed North Atlantic Assembly Panel. Since 1989 he has been a member of the United States delegati on to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has served as vice chairman of the Assembly's Defense and Security Committee. Because of his expertise in defense matters, he was named chairman for the conventional forces panel during House and Senate deliberations on the 1992 Department of Defense Authorization Bill. During his tenure with the Armed Services Committee, Sisisky has worked to protect Virginia's naval and military facilities while also trying to ensure that military spending decisions strike the proper balance between strategic necessity and fiscal prudence. An appointee on several commissions, he has initiated a number of investigations, such as one in 1983 that uncovered nearly $ 143 million in overestimated and overfunded expenses in the weapons procurement budget request. Sisisky later introduced legislation to streamline Defense Department weapons procure­ ment costs, resulting in a savings of more than $40 million for fi scal year 1987. For his efforts to cut federal spending,