Twelve days.
That’s the current countdown to Commencement, and the Pace Community couldn’t be more excited.
This year’s Commencement will be big. It’s our first in-person celebration in three years. It’s the first time we’re bringing all our graduates, from all levels—and across our three campuses and six colleges and schools—together for one major event. And it’s the first time we’ll be celebrating three graduating classes, the remarkable classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The day will be an extraordinary celebration of our students—I’m hoping it’s a bright and sunny day, giving all of these amazing students the best opportunity to shine. College is always a challenging period, and graduate school even tougher, but these three classes have persevered through what is probably the most challenging period in all of our lifetimes. Graduating students, you are committed, you are resilient, and you’re about to walk across a stage and receive your diplomas. Congratulations. I couldn’t be prouder.
I want to salute the organizers, who have been working hard all year to plan this special day. I want to salute the faculty and staff who have guided these students through their studies. And I want to salute the parents, family, and friends who have supported them—especially over two years when support was so crucial and necessary.
I hope I’ll see many of you at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Monday, May 16, as we celebrate these graduates and their accomplishments. I’m pleased that we’ll have such a prominent group of speakers to help us celebrate that special day.
I can’t wait to see you there as we cheer on all our graduates.
Pace University College of Health Professions faculty members Erica L. Gollub and Marie Lourdes Charles are advancing global health equity through research on the PrEP dapivirine ring, a discreet HIV prevention tool designed to expand choice and autonomy for young women.
Jennifer Winter, NP, a women's health nurse practitioner and doctoral student at Pace University's College of Health Professions, is using short social media-style videos to close a persistent gap in STI knowledge among young females, a population she has treated in clinical practice for more than two decades.
Christen Cooper, EdD, RDN, chair and founding director of Pace’s MS in Nutrition and Dietetics program, is advancing a compassionate, interdisciplinary approach to care—exploring how trauma-informed nutrition can support survivors of human trafficking and prepare future dietitians to recognize, respond, and help heal.