The 2006 Oregon Health & Science University Commencement is scheduled for Friday, June 2, at 5 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1000 S.W. Broadway, Portland. Approximately 967 degrees from the School of Dentistry, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, the OGI School of Science & Engineering and the joint program of OHSU and Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health will be given out.
Degrees conferred include: doctor of medicine, doctor of dental medicine, doctor of philosophy, master of public health, master of software engineering, doctor of pharmacy, master of physician assistant studies, master of science, master of nursing, bachelor of science in nursing, bachelor of science in radiation therapy and dietetic internship certificate.
OHSU President Peter Kohler, M.D., is the keynote speaker. Peter O. Kohler, M.D., has announced plans to retire by the end of 2006. Kohler became OHSU president July 1, 1988. He is one of the nation's longest-serving academic health center presidents. Kohler has been instrumental in guiding OHSU to national prominence. Under his leadership the institution is a dramatically different place than it was in 1988:
* OHSU's annual budget in 1988 was $254 million (21.6 percent from state appropriation); today it is $1.26 billion (less than 3 percent from state appropriation).
* In 1995 the state and OHSU created an innovative partnership, converting OHSU from the state's higher education system to a nonprofit public corporation. This conversion created a more streamlined governance structure with an OHSU Board of Directors appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. Patient care visits have grown from 245,000 annually in 1988 to 737,600 in 2004.
* Research quantity and achievement have grown by almost legendary proportions. Annual award dollars have grown from $40.5 million in 1988 to $274 million in fiscal year 2005.
* Facilities have been upgraded and 11 new buildings have been completed since 1988. A new West Campus was added, including the Oregon National Primate Research Center and the OHSU Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology.