Commencement



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Early Nursing Class
Established as South Florida's first baccalaureate nursing program in 1948, the nursing program was originally part of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Department of Nursing graduated its first students in 1956. It was later scheduled for dissolution, but emphasis on outstanding medical care at the School of Medicine gave reason for it to continue. The School of Nursing, relocated on the Medical Campus, was formed in 1968. The School was one of the first in the country to offer the nurse practitioner program in 1973. Two years after introducing the master's in nursing in 1976, the School added nurse midwifery and psychiatric-mental health nursing options. Now located on the Main Campus, the School of Nursing was the first in Florida to offer the doctorate in nursing in 1985.


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First Medical School Graduates, 1956
In 1956 the first class of 26 medical doctors graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine. The class was comprised of 23 men and 3 women. Accreditation for the School came four years after in was founded in 1952. The School of Medicine was still operating in its temporary Biltmore Hotel quarters at this time.


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First University of Miami Commencement, June 17, 1927
The first commencement ceremony was held on June 17, 1927. Graduates pictured here are, from left to right: Abby Howe Newton (bachelor of arts), Harriet Cooperman (bachelor of science in education), Joseph Ernest Wolfe, (bachelor of science in business administration), William Harrison Dempsey (bachelor of arts), Alma Eugenia Montgomery (2 year certificate in education) and Mrs. Oscar E. (Constance) Dooly (2 year certificate in voice).


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President Ashe & Winston Churchill
Dr. Bowman Foster Ashe and Sir Winston Churchill preparing for an academic convocation at the Orange Bowl stadium on February 26, 1946, where an honorary doctor of laws degree was conferred upon Churchill. Thousands of Royal Air Force (RAF) cadets trained in navigation at the University of Miami during World War II.


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UM Commencement, 1938
The 1938 graduation ceremonies were held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. One of the honorary degrees awarded that year was a Doctor of Letters to Victor Andres Belaunde, Professor of Hispanic-American culture at the University of Miami and United Nations delegate and elected official.