Medical school commencement is Saturday

Commencement exercises for the 33rd graduating class of SIU School of Medicine will be held at noon, Saturday, May 19. Sixty-nine physicians, including two earning combined MD-JD degrees, will graduate during the ceremony, which is held in the Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. One doctoral and one master's degree student also will participate in the ceremony.

The commencement speaker is Dr. William P. Magee Jr., co-founder and chief executive officer of Operation Smile. A plastic and craniofacial surgeon, Magee founded Operation Smile in 1982 with his wife, Kathleen S. Magee. As a private, not-for-profit volunteer medical services organization, it provides reconstructive surgery and related health care to indigent children and young adults in developing countries and the United States. Magee also trains international physicians in craniofacial techniques through Operation Smile's programs.

During the ceremony, Catherine N. Gaffigan, class chair, will deliver remarks on behalf of the graduates. Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost, will open the convocation, while Dr. Erik J. Constance, associate dean for student affairs, will introduce each graduate. Interim SIUC Chancellor John M. Dunn will confer the degrees, while SIU President Glenn W. Poshard will award diplomas to the medical students.