COMMENCEMENT
Congratulations to the Class of 2021! You are UIC. We honored 219 graduates who successfully completed the requirements for their Doctor of Pharmacy, Master of Science, and/or Doctor of Philosophy degree. Among the graduates were nine PharmD valedictorians (Reham Awad, Taylor Holder, Kristina Karapetyan, Jessica Kulawiak, Andrew McInerny, Johanna Papnikolla, Hunter Patton-Gentert, Fong Kit Tam, and Lisa Wendt); numerous students recognized for leadership and service; and graduates from both the Chicago and Rockford campuses.
Dr. Francesca Cunningham
The Class of 2021 is a stellar group. We know this because, like the class before them, they were thoroughly tested during their time at UIC. Not just in the traditional sense—by their faculty—but in the more important tests that life presents. They have the distinction of graduating during a pandemic! They rose to this unprecedented challenge with poise and confidence. They will do the same throughout their careers as the next generation of leaders of the profession of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Our commencement ceremony included a tribute to our Golden Graduates—the alumni celebrating their 50th anniversary. This year we honored the Class of 1971 (noted on page 34) for their long commitment to the profession of pharmacy, their service as role models to our new graduates, and their everlasting support for the UIC College of Pharmacy. They are examples for all of us. As the Class of 2021 departs, they received some excellent words of wisdom and advice from our keynote speaker, Dr. Francesca Cunningham, PharmD, RES ’88, FEL ’89. Dr. Cunningham serves as the director of the Center for Medication Safety, associate chief consultant, and program director of outcomes assessment at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pharmacy
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Benefits Management Services (PBM). Dr. Cunningham was the driving force behind the successful effort of the PBM to establish reliable methods for merging the VA prescription database with other large VArelated databases to evaluate the safe and appropriate use of medications in the veteran population—Dr. Cunningham’s leadership and commitment is what we look for in all of our graduates. The Class of 2021 attended one of the very best colleges of pharmacy in the world. They are ready to conquer the world of pharmacy. While they do, we hope they will stay connected. If we have learned anything in the past year, it is how important it is to stay connected. Stay connected to your roots, to your family and loved ones, and to the College of Pharmacy. We are proud to proclaim the Class of 2021 to be alumni of the UIC College of Pharmacy. Like all of our 10,000 alumni, our exceptional faculty, our Golden Graduates, and our graduation ceremony speaker, the Class of 2021 is UIC!
