Georgetown University School of Medicine Commencement to Honor 195 Graduates

Reed V. Tuckson, MD, executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group, to deliver keynote address.

Washington, DC – In a time-honored tradition, 195 students from Georgetown University School of Medicine, class of 2010, will officially become medical doctors during the 158th commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Reed V. Tuckson, MD, executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group, will deliver the keynote address.

“The class of 2010 represents the extraordinary service and commitment to patients that is at the core of our medical school training, with 42 percent entering primary care specialties, and all dedicated to improving the lives of their patients,” said Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, dean for medical education.

“These graduates believe deeply in Georgetown's motto of ‘'cura personalis,'’ or care of the whole person. While they face unprecedented opportunities to provide truly personalized care, they also are entering medicine during a highly uncertain time for U.S. health care. I am thrilled for these young physicians to hear from Dr. Tuckson, a Hoya whose career embodies Georgetown’s values and who is a leader in the field of health care.” Reed Tuckson (M'78) is a graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s General Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs.

He has served as senior vice president, professional standards, for the American Medical Association (AMA); is former president of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles; has served as senior vice president for programs of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; and is a former commissioner of public health for the District of Columbia.

In 2009, Reed Tuckson was named to Black Enterprise magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” He was also selected as one of Modern Healthcare/ Modern Physician’s 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare for 2009 and 2010. Last year, he was named one of Modern Healthcare’s “Top 25 Minority Executives” in Healthcare for 2008” and to Ebony magazine’s “2008 Power 150: The Most Influential Blacks in America” list.

Note: Media must RSVP to Tressa Kirby no later than Saturday, May 22, 2010. Complimentary media parking is available at 1800 G Street, NW.

About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC’s mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Health Studies, both nationally ranked, the world-renowned Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), home to 60 percent of the university’s sponsored research funding. ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2010 CONTACT: Tressa Kirby 202-687-8865 tk275@georgetown.edu