GALVESTON, Texas - Eighty five health professions students will receive baccalaureate or master's degrees from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in a 4 p.m. ceremony, Friday, Dec. 12, at the William C. Levin auditorium on the UTMB campus.
Forty-six students will receive master's degrees in physician assistant studies; 32 students will receive master's degrees in physical therapy; five students will earn Bachelor of Science degrees in clinical laboratory sciences; and two students will receive bachelor's degrees in respiratory care.
Elizabeth Protas, dean of the UTMB School of Health Professions, will officiate at the graduation, and Diane Doehne Rath, the school's 2008 distinguished alumna, will deliver the commencement address.
Rath received her Bachelor of Science in physical therapy from the UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences (now called Health Professions) in 1975. Rath has served as commissioner and chairwoman of the Texas Workforce Commission. She recently received the President's Award from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. She currently works as the chief operational officer for the eastern division of Arbor E&T LLC.
"Our graduates are in great demand because of the excellence of our programs and the serious shortage of health professionals throughout Texas," Protas said.
"Educating a new generation of health care professionals is an investment in our collective future and one step toward guaranteeing adequate health care access for Texas," she said.
Two students will be honored for exceptional contributions. Emily Ann Rottenberg, physical therapy, will receive the interdisciplinary studies leadership and humanism award, and Anna Elizabeth Magliolo, physical therapy, will receive the student honor award.
Established in 1968, the UTMB School of Health Professions has educated more than 6,500 professionals who serve in the nation's health care workforce. UTMB's graduate programs in physician assistant studies and occupational therapy and a new doctoral program in physical therapy are ranked among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The School of Health Professions was ranked eighth in National Institutes of Health funding for 2007.
Health professions include physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, clinical laboratory scientist, and respiratory care. The School of Health Professions at UTMB offers all of these programs. The majority of UTMB graduates elect to practice in Texas.