This is an exciting time for us in higher education in general and at the IHP in particular. Just last weekend, we launched into practice over 560 new graduates at our 2020 Commencement ceremony and in a few days, we will be welcoming direct-entry students in nursing, physician assistant studies, genetic counseling, and speech-language pathology, as well as post-professional students in health professions education, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation sciences, 330 in all who will join those who started their academic programs this summer.
On August 30, the members of the 40th graduating class from MGH Institute of Health Professions took their rightful place as alumni, with the rights, privileges, and responsibilities associated with their discipline of study. Their commencement was like no other in the history of the IHP and, in fact, probably like no other in the history of higher education. When we were making plans for commencement, we had all hoped that we would be thinking of the global coronavirus pandemic as an historical event by summer of 2020. First, we pushed the date for the event from May to July and then to August, thinking by then we could have an in-person celebration, something everyone wanted for this graduating class. But as June arrived, we realized the pandemic not only was not abating but surging in some areas, making an in-person celebration of almost 5,000 people impossible. The decision to convert the event into a virtual celebration in August was not an easy one but now, having experienced it, I am thrilled for the students and their families. The celebration of each one of our graduates was personal and special. I feel like I know more about them now than I would have if I only had that few seconds to shake their hand as they walked across the stage. The ability to recognize our alumni awardees, our emeriti faculty, and our newest recipient of an honorary doctorate, Dr. Bette Ann Harris, rounded out the celebration in a way that felt like we were all together in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. And Meyyammai Muthu, a graduating SLP student who gave the keynote speech, was amazing.
The Class of 2020 certainly has much to be proud of after enduring unprecedented challenges over the last six months. As we pivoted to a fully virtual academic environment, these were the students who embraced the opportunity for telehealth experiences, innovated new models of learning clinical skills, sought opportunities to provide service to our community in crisis, and provided individual and collective support to each other through virtual social events. And while the experience was not what they expected, they received the preparation they needed to become beginning practicing clinicians, while their resilience in the face of adversity will serve them as they enter a less than perfect health care delivery system. They will be the leaders who can see past our current state to what can be done if we have the wisdom, creativity, and passion to succeed when nothing is what you expect. These are the graduates who will stand up for those who have consistently been marginalized in the health care delivery system because they have seen the disproportionate impact on minority populations from COVID-19. These graduates, our future health care leaders, will be the resilient providers who will change the wholly imperfect health care system we currently have.
Next week, we are excited to be welcoming a new class of students who are beginning their journey into health care. Given the world we live in, it’s hard to imagine a collection of disciplines that are more important today than the roles for which we prepare students. Their decision to enter health care delivery at this time demonstrates their personal courage and passion for improving the lives of others. Our commitment to preparing these new students to be competent and just clinical providers, who are leaders in health care delivery and prepared to work as an interprofessional team to solve the incredibly challenging issues we face, has never wavered. The faculty and staff are ready to help welcome the incoming class and assist them to become integrated into our community of interprofessional learners.
I don’t want to forget the many continuing students in our programs that continue to seek opportunities to grow as a health professional and learn in ways they had never expected. These are the students who had just started their clinical experiences when the pandemic changed everything. These are the students who are looking at the future and wondering how they will emerge from the IHP as beginning health professionals. Please know that your faculty, staff, and administration know the stress the changes of the last six months have put on you and those who support you. We want you to know that we are committed to making sure you have the same high-quality outcomes as the many IHP graduates who came before you – we just know you are going to get there using a slightly different path. Unlike previous IHP graduates, you will have skills that will prepare you for the delivery of health care in a very different model.
For as many years as I have been in higher education, I always get excited about the beginning of a new academic year. It truly is my favorite time of the year. I love welcoming faculty and staff to our community because the promise of a new group of students about to embark on the best careers I can think of is so exciting. And while this academic year will be different as we enter the first few weeks of September, some of the usual traditions of a new academic year are beginning to emerge. We have an exciting new student orientation planned, students began arriving on campus on August 24 for clinical education experiences, and our faculty and staff are enjoying the rituals of a new academic year, albeit virtually.
I look forward to a great year with you all. As we shed the constraints of the pandemic and begin to integrate usual activities into our lives, I look forward to a time when we can be together. I know we can make it a great year.