The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) will celebrate its 43rd class of graduates during its commencement ceremony being held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2 in the SIUE Morris University Center (MUC) Meridian Ballroom.
Leo E. Rouse, DDS, will deliver the commencement address to 52 students receiving their doctor of dental medicine degrees. Rouse serves as a senior scholar-in-residence of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) in Washington, District of Columbia.
Rouse is the liaison to U.S. and Canadian dental school deans and serves as the chair of the ADEAGies Foundation Board of Trustees. He is dean and professor emeritus of the Howard University College of Dentistry, his alma mater.
The SIU SDM Class of 2018 boasts a 100 percent first time pass rate on the National Board Dental Exams Part II, and a 94 percent first time pass rate on clinical board exams. More than a third of the graduates have been accepted into competitive graduate and specialty training programs throughout the country.
The six students of the SIU SDM’s inaugural International Advanced Placement Program, which began in 2016, will be among those receiving their DMD degrees at commencement. These students will represent the first graduates of the School’s International Program.
The SIU SDM commencement ceremony can be viewed live at siue.edu/tv. A reception for students, faculty and family members will follow in the second floor Conference Center of the MUC.
Photo: Leo E. Rouse, DDS, will deliver the SIU SDM commencement address on Saturday, June 2.