Meet the 2025 CUIMC Commencement and Class Day Speakers
Graduation season at Columbia University Irving Medical Center kicks off next month, and the four schools are looking forward to welcoming the speakers for each graduation ceremony. (All graduation speakers at Columbia are listed here).
College of Dental Medicine
Commencement Speaker: Karen P. West, DMD, MPH, President and CEO of American Dental Education Association
A longtime advocate for women’s health and diversity and inclusion in dental education, Karen P. West began her career as a project director in the Augusta Dental Project/Children and Youth Dental Clinic in 1984. Before joining the American Dental Education Association, she held multiple positions in dental faculty and administration spanning 30 years and served as dean of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas between 2007 and 2019.
West earned her DMD from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry and her MPH in health administration from the University of South Carolina School of Public Health.
Mailman School of Public Health
Class Day Speaker: Vivek Murthy, MD, Former Surgeon General of the United States
Vivek H. Murthy served as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States.
Murthy’s work has widened the lens through which we understand forces that shape our health and well-being. He has drawn attention to critical underappreciated health issues, including the epidemic of loneliness, the impact of social media on youth mental health, parental mental health and well-being, the youth mental health crisis, and health worker burnout.
In 2020, Murthy published the New York Times bestseller "Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World."
School of Nursing
Commencement Speaker: Mary Woolley, MA, LHD, president and CEO of Research!America
Mary Woolley is the president of Research!America, an alliance that advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. Under her leadership, Research!America has earned the attention and respect of elected and appointed officials, researchers in the public, private, and academic sectors, media, and community leaders with its record of innovation in advocacy for research. Research!America’s reports and publications, websites, and education initiatives have been honored by leading regional and international communications and advocacy organizations.
Woolley is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served two terms on its Governing Council. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Commencement Speaker: Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Siddhartha Mukherjee is an oncologist, researcher, and author. Mukherjee’s books have made a vast contribution to the public discourse on human health, medicine, and science. "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" earned the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction; "The Gene: An Intimate History" won international awards and was recognized as one of the most influential books of 2016. Both books have been adapted into PBS documentaries by the renowned filmmaker Ken Burns.
As a medical researcher, Mukherjee has conducted innovative research that signals a paradigm shift in cancer pathology and has enabled the development of new biological and cellular therapies. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.