Anthony Fauci is Hofstra’s commencement speaker

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Dr. Anthony Fauci will deliver the commencement address at Hofstra University’s midyear graduation ceremony on Dec. 21 at the Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Fauci is the former chief medical advisor to the president of the United States and former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

Approximately 600 undergraduate, graduate and law students are expected to participate, having completed their degree requirements in the summer or fall of 2023.

“Hofstra University is delighted to welcome Dr. Fauci to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree,” Hofstra President Susan Poser said in a news release about the commencement. “His illustrious career in research and public service has had a global impact and will be an inspiration to the new graduates of Hofstra University.”

Fauci served at NIAID for more than 50 years and was a key advisor to seven U.S. presidents on global HIV/AIDS issues and on preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats. During his time as NIAID director from 1984 to 2022, he oversaw an extensive research portfolio on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases, as well as transplantation and immune-related illnesses. Through his extensive work, Fauci is one of the most cited physician-scientists in the world.

Fauci was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor granted in the United States, by President George W. Bush in 2008, for his work as one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The program has saved more than 25 million lives in the developing world, according to published reports.

Fauci served under President Donald Trump as one of the lead members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and then under President Joe Biden as chief medical advisor and one of the lead members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

Fauci holds an undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross and the doctor of medicine from Cornell University Medical College, which is now Weill Cornell Medicine. He has been awarded 62 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the United States and abroad and will add Hofstra University to that list.

“This commencement will be memorable,” Donald Schaeffer, chair of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees, said in the news release. “These students are among those whose schooling was interrupted by COVID-19, and Dr. Fauci’s address will undoubtedly bring their experience full circle. As a doctor and a medical scientist, who has served with honor and distinction, he will help make this a special event for the graduates and their families.”

Tickets are required for the event and are limited to family and guests of the graduates. The ceremony will be streamed live on Hofstra’s YouTube channel.