Moments from Commencement
School of Nursing
A life dedicated to caring for humanity
The University of Rochester’s School of Nursing conferred degrees to 313 members of the Class of 2021 in a ceremony in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on Friday, May 21. Opening the celebration, President Sarah Mangelsdorf asked the graduates to rise “to stand and honor your families and friends watching online.”
“We know how important their support has been on this journey,” she said as the graduates, masked and seated several feet apart from one another, rose and clapped.
The graduates included recipients across nine distinct programs at the school. COVID-19, as well as the health consequences of structural racism, were dominant themes in addresses by Kathy Rideout, dean of the School of Nursing, and Mark Taubman, CEO of the Medical Center and UR Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry.
“The smoldering impacts of racism caught fire over the past year as COVID shined a harsh light on long-standing health disparities,” said Taubman. “Racism, indeed, is a public health crisis, and combatting this must be an essential part of improving the health care system.”
The Ceremony
Watch the recording of the School of Nursing Commencement ceremony. The ceremony took place on May 21, 2021 at 2 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.