Veritas, Vol. 31, No. 15, May 1, 1991

              Louis Sullivan to give commencement address, four honorary degrees to be awarded
Sullivan
Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan, who oversees the largest federal agency and its $400 billion annual budget, will speak at the University of Miami commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 10, beginning at
8:30 a.m. on the Coral Gables campus.
As head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sullivan directs a vast agency responsible for the major health, welfare, food and drug safety, medical research, and income security programs serving the American people. Among the agencies that report to Sullivan are the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control,
Medicare, and Medicaid.
Fittingly, Sullivan, a three mile-a-day power walker, is an avid supporter of health promotion and disease prevention. He has helped promote smoke-free environments in the work place, has aggressively fought the sale of cigarettes to minors, and has proposed nutri-
Finn bogadottir	Bishop
tion labeling of processed foods.
Also during the ceremony, four honorary degrees will be awarded.
Vigdis Finnbogadottir, president of The Republic of Iceland since 1980, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. As president, Dr. Vigdis (as she is called
by the people of Iceland), has proven to be an effective ambassador for her country, traveling widely and serving as host for the 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev Summit in Reykjavik.
Nobel Laureate J. Michael Bishop, a microbiologist who has made important discoveries in
Brennan	Lehman
cancer research, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Bishop and Harold E. Varmus shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work, which showed that normal cells contain genes capable of becoming cancer genes. Their
work has led to a better understanding of how cancer tumors develop. Bishop is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
The Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr., who recently retired after 34 years as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Brennan’s work on the bench led to new important guarantees and protection in civil rights, free speech, and due process. In February, Brennan joined the UM School of Law to teach a two-month seminar that emphasized the Bill of Rights.
William Lehman, a U.S. representative and chairman of the powerful House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. A Democrat from the 17th District, Florida, Lehman has pursued careers in both business and government.
Ross Murfin named dean
C. Everett Koop will speak to medical school graduates
C. Everett Koop, U.S. Surgeon General from 1981 to 1989, will address the medical school’s graduating class at its commencement ceremonies, Saturday,
May 11, at 2 p.m., at the James L. Knight International Center.
Koop was invited to speak by senior class vice president Janet Hummer, who wrote, “Your words and actions have clearly demonstrated the values which we also hold dear in these times of medical challenges, especially in the areas of AIDS, addiction, and poverty.” The medical school graduating
class should be in good spirits.
More than 90 percent of the 150 graduates seeking residency positions matched into one of their top three choices. Ninety-two students got their first choice.
“The match percentage has been steadily on the rise for the past several years, which means we’re on the right track,” says Bernard J. Fogel, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “Many students were accepted into some very coveted positions.”
Ross C. Murfin, vice provost for undergraduate affairs and English professor, has been appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective August 1. He will replace David L. Wilson, who is stepping down after six years to return to teaching and research.
“The search for a dean drew much interest nationally,” said President Edward T. Foote EL “That Professor Murfin emerged as our choice is a tribute to him as a scholar, teacher, and leader. He is one of the most respected members of our talented faculty.”
Murfin joined the University in 1981 as an associate professor of
English after serving on the faculty of Yale University for seven years. He has served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the honors and privileged studies program. When the University’s residential college system was established in 1984, Murfin was appointed master of the Florence Hecht Residential College.
Murfin was educated at Princeton University and the University of Virginia. He has written three books, Sons and Lovers: A Novel of Division and Desire, The Poetry of D.H.
Lawrence, and Sivinbume, Hardy, Lawrence and the Burden of Belief