‘A New Generation of Trailblazers’ Honored at School of Health Commencement Ceremony
(May 18, 2026) — The School of Health Commencement Ceremony honored the 154 undergraduate and graduate degree recipients that comprise the school’s Class of 2026, and encouraged the new alumni to use their skills to promote health equity.
“The School of Health represents a unified community of impassioned dreamers, individuals committed to building a more just and equitable world where all people can achieve optimal health and well-being,” said Christopher King, PhD, MHSc, FACHE, dean of the School of Health, during the May 16 ceremony on Healy Lawn. “Today, your degrees will be conferred because you have demonstrated the knowledge, compassion, and core competencies that are needed to move us one step closer to that vision.”
Undergraduate students received Bachelor of Science degrees in global health, human science and healthcare management & policy, while graduate students received master’s and executive master’s degrees in addiction policy & practice, global health, global infectious disease, health systems administration, and clinical quality, safety, & leadership.
“As I look at you this afternoon, I am in awe,” King said. “I see a new generation of trailblazers who understand that when we care for the most vulnerable, whether it’s a person or a community, the entire world benefits. And I see an army of intellectuals standing in solidarity around a renewed commitment to social justice, all for the sake of improving the human condition.”
The Importance of Being Present
Kedar S. Mate, MD, co-founder and chief medical officer of Qualified Health AI, received the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, at the commencement ceremony before addressing the graduates. Recognized by Modern Healthcare as among the 100 most influential healthcare executives in the U.S., Mate has worked in clinical medicine, engaged in global health policy at the World Health Organization, and served as president and chief executive officer at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Kedar S. Mate, MD
Mate drew upon his diverse experiences in his address to the graduates, including the time he spent at a rural hospital in Rwanda as a third-year medical resident, when both HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis were ravaging the population. When Mate found himself struggling to help a patient, he was pulled aside by “Dr. Dusi,” a 15-year veteran doctor at the hospital.
“He said, ‘You will not save everyone in this ward,’” Mate recalled. “‘You may not even save most of them. But you can be present for every one of them. That is the work.’”
“He didn’t say it was the consolation prize,” Mate added. “He didn’t say it was what was left when you couldn’t do the real thing. He said, ‘That is the work.’ Being present. Showing up. Being there long after the shift was done, sitting in that cavernous ward, holding the hand of a scared young person as they take their final breaths. That is the work.”
Challenges Lead to Change
Mate acknowledged the challenges that graduates will face in healthcare careers, including skyrocketing costs, declining trust in public institutions, interruptions to research, and questions about the role of AI.
“You have earned a degree from a world-class university at a moment when the institutions that degree relies on are, in many ways, aflame,” he said. “And despite all of this, I believe sincerely that this is the best time to be graduating from this school.”
Historically, the biggest trials of public health have led to meaningful innovations, Mate said, citing the development of mRNA vaccine technology as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The question is never whether challenge will produce change,” Mate said. “It always does. The question is whether you will be the one directing that change or watching it happen from the sidelines.”
“The question is never whether challenge will produce change,” Mate said. “It always does. The question is whether you will be the one directing that change or watching it happen from the sidelines.”
‘Integrity is Everything’
After his sons told him that the average person listening to their commencement talk remembers just one thing that the speaker said, Mate said he challenged himself to identify the most important message he wanted attendees to remember.
“This is the bit that I hope you will remember: Integrity is everything,” he said. “The premium on knowing things is collapsing. So what rises in its place is trust. Trust is now the most scarce resource that any of us have.”
Building trust means being your authentic self, Mate said. “Tell the truth, especially when it’s expensive,” he said. “Say what you will do, then do what you have said. Show up for the people who are not allowed to show up for themselves. Be present and be you, and remember Dr. Dusi’s line to me — ‘That is the work.’”
Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications
Scenes From Commencement 2026
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