Medical School Awards Diplomas to 172 Graduates

Taking place at the Center for the Arts on UB’s North Campus, the graduation ceremony recognized 172 medical students amid resounding cheers and applause throughout the afternoon. 

Nine members of the Class of 2025 earned dual MD/PhD degrees, one earned an MD/MBA degree, and another earned an MD/oral and maxillofacial surgery degree. 

UB President Satish K. Tripathi, PhD, praised the graduating class and welcomed the auditorium filled with friends and family. “Allow me to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Class of 2025.”

Quoting Nelson Mandela, Tripathi said that, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” He discussed how the graduates have been trained to think critically, to innovate and pursue new knowledge. He added that these skills transcend professional development and career success as doctors. “You truly have, as Mandela said, the means to change the world.”

Tripathi recalled that UB’s researchers and innovators have made revolutionary discoveries and developments, from the pacemaker to key stroke treatments to artificial intelligence providing real-time analysis for surgical procedures. Further, he said, more innovations are still to come.

“As you graduate from UB, you become the newest standard bearers of this mission. Those of us gathered today greatly look forward to seeing you take what you have learned at the University at Buffalo and apply it to the greater good.”

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, thanked the audience of family and friends for joining the graduates in commemorating the significance of the day. “Together we gather to celebrate a defining moment in the lives of our medical students. They have dedicated years of hard work and perseverance to get to this moment.”

While addressing the graduates, Brashear spoke about the critical need for more physicians, the importance of research, and the essential role that doctors play in the lives of patients and their families.

After citing projected physician shortages, Brashear reminded the graduates of the need for not just younger doctors but for new perspectives. “Your fresh perspectives and innovative approaches are vital to ensuring that our health care system remains robust and responsive to the needs of all patients.”

She reminded graduates that in spite of constant challenges to resiliency, from global health crises to keeping up with technologies and ever-changing practices, doctors should always demonstrate humanism and be dedicated to their patients and to learning.

“You have the power to inspire, to innovate, to lead, and, most importantly, to comfort and heal,” she said. “As you navigate all these complexities, remember that you are adaptable and have a commitment to life-long learning. That will be your greatest asset.”

During a special ceremony, Jeremy M. Jacobs Sr., chairman of Delaware North and chair emeritus of the UB Council, was awarded the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB’s highest honor, presented annually to publicly recognize major achievements that dignify Buffalo.

Presenting the medal to Jacobs, Tripathi praised Jacobs’ devotion and the value of his friendship with the university. 

“In the history of the University at Buffalo, we have been fortunate to have had a great many friends who have partnered with us to achieve our institution’s goals and priorities. Among these friends, alumnus Jeremy Jacobs stands apart for his steadfast devotion to UB’s mission and vision of excellence,” Tripathi said. 

Jacobs began serving on the UB Council in 1997 and was chair from 1998 to 2025. This year, he was named chair emeritus in recognition of his leadership and significant contributions to the university.

He is chairman of Delaware North, the global hospitality company with food and retail operations at major sports venues, parks, tourist attractions, airports, and other facilities across the U.S. and Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Delaware North has received wide recognition for its community service efforts, environmental stewardship, and demonstration of social responsibility.

An alumnus of UB’s School of Management and Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, Jacobs has a record of longstanding service to UB and more than four decades of business leadership and philanthropic engagement within the Western New York community. He has served as chairman, trustee and director of the UB Foundation, chairman of the President’s Board of Visitors, and adviser to the School of Management.

In 2015, Jeremy M. Jacobs, his wife, Margaret, and their family gave a historic $30 million gift to advance UB’s medical school, which was renamed the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

Before keynote speaker David J. Skorton, MD, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), began his address, he proclaimed how happy everyone was to be there, taking a selfie with the cheering audience behind him.  

Skorton has been with the AAMC since 2019, leading the nonprofit association that represents medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and academic societies. He oversaw the organization’s recent strategic planning advancements and aligning of resources to confront the most intractable health challenges. Before joining the AAMC, Skorton led a distinguished career in government, higher education, and medicine. 

During his remarks, Skorton reminded the graduates of medicine’s rapid and inevitable change. Going back generations, medical students would have been taught the humoral theory of disease, that an imbalance of bodily fluids caused illness, Skorton said.

“And then everything changed. We discovered microorganisms, tiny beings that contribute to both health and disease,” he said. “The paradigm of science turned absolutely upside down in a matter of years.”

But, he noted, there was plenty of opposition to germ theory — change was hard to accept, until evidence became overwhelming.

“To me, germ theory is a reminder that progress hinges on our willingness to revisit our established beliefs and assumptions with open minds,” he said. “It’s got to be a lifelong pursuit.”

The pace of medical innovation has increased exponentially since germ theory days, Skorton added. Yet, he told the graduates to maintain a beginner’s mindset, one that’s flexible and free from preconceptions and rigidity. 

“Your beginner’s mind is invaluable in medicine, especially as the pace of medical advancements accelerates. And I hope you maintain that mindset, even when you’re no longer a beginner.”

While preparing his speech, class speaker Nathaniel Graves gathered input from his fellow graduates, asking them about lessons they’ve learned throughout medical school. “They shared their thoughts on everything from mindfulness to joy to living freely to vulnerability to empathy to community,” he told the audience. 

Graves echoed the call to embrace discomfort and push boundaries to enable growth. “Every time you have had some measure of uncertainty or discomfort, you have come out on the other side, or you wouldn’t be here today.”

While gathering advice, Graves was told of the importance of “being grounded and rooted in something bigger than ourselves, be it faith, nature, family, or a sense of purpose.” He said he was also reminded of the importance of showing compassion and kindness, not only to patients, but to ourselves.

Graves further reflected on the devotion of his fellow graduates to each other and to the future. “This is the group, that I’ve personally witnessed show immense courage and vulnerability to shift the culture of medicine more and more toward empathy and humanity.”