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The 238th Commencement
Social Pioneer Geoffrey Canada To Address Medical School Graduates
Geoffrey Canada, acclaimed advocate for inner-city children, will address the 32nd Brown Medical School graduating class Sunday, May 28, 2006, in the First Unitarian Church. Colin Harrington, M.D., a clinical associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior, will deliver the faculty address, and Daniel Vázquez, a candidate for the M.D. degree, will deliver the student address. Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Eli Y. Adashi, M.D., will preside. PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Geoffrey Canada, president and chief executive officer of Harlem Children’s Zone Inc. will address the 32nd Brown Medical School graduating class when it gathers for the Commencement Ceremony at 11:15 a.m. Sunday, May 28, 2006, in the First Unitarian Church. 
Since 1990, Canada has led the Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit organization that provides educational, social and medical services to more than 8,000 needy children on 60 New York City blocks. The program follows children from birth through college and provides services, such as parenting classes, to the entire Harlem community. Canada, author of the acclaimed 1995 book Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America, has received several awards for his pioneering education and economic development work and will receive an honorary degree from Brown University at its 238th Commencement. Canada’s address is titled “Time Out: Preparing America’s Next Generation of Leaders.” The 89 students of Brown’s M.D. Class of 2006 will also hear a speech titled “Looking Forward at History” from Colin Harrington, M.D., a clinical associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior. Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital have awarded Harrington honors for outstanding teaching and clinical care and Harrington has been consistently voted by his peers as one of the state’s top psychiatrists as polled by Rhode Island Monthly magazine. Daniel Vázquez of the M.D. Class of 2006 will deliver the student address, speaking on the theme of “Awakening.” A native of Puerto Rico, Vázquez took on a range of leadership and research roles at Brown, volunteering as an interpreter’s aide at Rhode Island Hospital, serving on the board of the Louise Feinstein Alzheimer’s Center, and conducting research in gene therapy, immunology, neurosurgery and space medicine – including conducting a near-weightless experiment aboard a NASA plane. After graduation, Vázquez will begin a general surgery preliminary residency at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. Edward Feller, M.D., will receive the Senior Citation, the most prestigious award a faculty member can receive from graduating medical students. Feller is a clinical professor of medicine, co-director of the community health clerkship and director of the Division of Gastroenterology at The Miriam Hospital. This is his fourth Senior Citation. Following the addresses and awards, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Eli Y. Adashi, M.D., will administer the Physician’s Oath, as adapted by the 1975 graduating class. ###### Media Relations Home | Top of File | e-Subscribe | Brown Home Page | ||||