Gillings School’s 84th commencement celebrates Class of 2024
May 14, 2024
“Love is the world’s oldest medicine. It is what I wish for you all more than anything else in the world. Your ability to give and receive love – that is your greatest gift and your greatest power.”
Dean Nancy Messonnier and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pose with students and faculty at the Gillings School’s 2024 Spring Commencement.
United States Surgeon General and Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, joined the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in celebrating 676 graduating students of the Class of 2024, nearly 650 of whom attended the Dean E. Smith Center for the Gillings School’s 84th commencement on Saturday, May 11.
The Surgeon General’s commencement speech commended the newest group of Carolina public health alumni, many of whom walked the graduation stage for the first time after experiencing a remote high school graduation during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
“I’m grateful that you saw it through because the truth is that you are needed in the world now more than ever,” Dr. Murthy said in his speech. “There are major forces that you read out in the papers every day that are pulling public health in different directions.”
Chief among the forces that Murthy addressed was the widespread mental health crisis. In his tenure as Surgeon General, he has issued advisories on the youth mental health crisis and social media’s impact on youth mental health, the epidemic of loneliness and isolation, and burnout in the health worker community.
Instagram post from @u.s.surgeongeneral: Congratulations to @uncpublichealth for all you’ve accomplished on your way to today’s commencement and thank you for inviting me to celebrate with you! I feel hopeful knowing this intelligent and compassionate group will be using their talents to protect our nation’s health.
Dr. Murthy has also issued a Surgeon General’s Framework on mental health in the workplace, and he is the first Surgeon General to host a podcast — House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy — in which he invites guests and listeners to explore how we can all build more connected and meaningful lives.
In his commencement speech on Saturday, Dr. Murthy connected the importance of building meaningful relationships in public health to stories from his life. Some were deeply personal or painful, but all of them carried lessons on the power of love and personal connection to bring healing. One example of that connection is the Okinawan tradition of Moai (模合), in which small social groups commit to providing support for one another through all of life’s ups and downs, and which Dr. Murthy said changed his life and helped him navigate critical decisions.
He closed his speech by encouraging the audience to meditate and draw strength from the love of people who have supported them on their journeys. “Know that you are deserving of this love, and know that love is always there for you whether they are with you or not, because it resides in your heart.”
Drs. Vivek Murthy and Nancy Messonnier
Dean Nancy Messonnier, MD, echoed the importance of support and unity in public health in her own comments to the graduates.
“Remember, public health is a team sport,” she said. “It requires collaboration, empathy and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives. Our world is a tapestry of cultures, beliefs and experiences, and it is through understanding and unity that we ourselves help create and foster that we can address the most pressing health issues.”
After walking across the stage to thunderous applause, graduates joined a network of more than 22,000 Gillings School alumni who live and work in all 100 North Carolina counties, all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 100 countries around the world.
Find photos from the event, read the Commencement program (PDF) and watch a recording of the live-streamed ceremony.
Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.
