MEDIA ADVISORY
CONTACT: Doug Carlson, FSU College of Medicine
(850) 645-1255; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu
May 13, 2021
The Florida State University College of Medicine will graduate its 17th class of medical students during an in-person commencement ceremony Sunday. M.D. Class of 2017 alumnus Myron Rolle will deliver the commencement address. Rolle is a neurosurgery resident at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
During the ceremony, which will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, the college will graduate 119 new physicians. Viewers can join in on social media using #FSUDocs21. In addition, the college will graduate its 12th class of students with the Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences–Bridge to Clinical Medicine. By completing the program, the 13 Bridge students have qualified to begin medical school at Florida State on June 1 as members of the incoming Class of 2025.
The Bridge program has been credited with increasing the number of qualified candidates for medical school from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine, including minority students and students from rural communities. Bridge and other outreach programs have helped the College of Medicine become one of the top U.S. medical schools for enrollment of both Black and Hispanic students. According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 edition of “Best Graduate Schools,” the College of Medicine tied for No. 13 in diversity with 26 percent of students identifying as an underrepresented minority.
Thanks in part to Bridge, FSU medical alumni are practicing in rural communities at rates significantly above the national average. Of FSU’s 822 alumni physicians currently practicing, 115 are caring for patients in the Florida Panhandle and rural border counties. U.S. News recently ranked the college No. 13 for percent of graduates practicing direct patient care in health professional shortage areas.
The commencement ceremony will take place:
SUNDAY, MAY 16
3 P.M.
DONALD L. TUCKER CIVIC CENTER
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
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