A state Medicaid director, a Ford Motor Co. executive and a newspaper columnist will be the featured speakers for the Flint and Dearborn campus commencement ceremonies.
UM-Flint
Virginia Medicaid Director Dr. Gregg Pane has been selected commencement speaker for the UM-Flint ceremonies.
Commencement will take place May 1 at the Perani Arena and Events Center. There will be two ceremonies, one at 11 a.m. for the College of Arts and Sciences and the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, the second at 4 p.m. for the School of Management, the School of Health Professions and Studies, and the School of Education and Human Services.
Pane was born in Flint and is a 1977 graduate of UM-Flint. He received his medical degree from the U-M, and a master’s in public (health services) administration from the University of San Francisco. He completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Wright State University.
Dr. Pane previously was director, National Health Care Preparedness Programs for the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program provides $400M in cooperative agreement funding to state public health agencies and hospitals to improve health system preparedness.
Beginning in 2004 Pane was appointed director of the District of Columbia Health Department, and for three years headed the $2 billion, 1300-staff agency responsible for a large variety of health care programs in the D.C. area.
During his career he has received numerous awards, and has served in both appointed and leadership roles in a host of professional organizations. Some of those organizations include the World Bank, Institute of Medicine, National Health Policy Forum, the VA Federal Advisory Commission and several others.
While most of his career has kept him busy on the East Coast, he often has found time to return to his alma mater. One of his key roles was to co-chair one of the largest fundraising efforts of UM-Flint. The Capital Campaign kicked off in 2006, and eventually raised nearly $40 million.
UM-Dearborn
Mark Fields, executive vice president of Ford Motor Company and president of The Americas, and Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley will be the featured speakers at UM-Dearborn’s commencement ceremonies on May 1.
UM-Dearborn will have two ceremonies at the Fieldhouse/Arena. The first for the College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Business will begin at 10 a.m., followed by a second one at 3 p.m. for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and the School of Education.
Fields will speak in the morning and Riley will speak at the afternoon ceremony.
Other speakers will include UM-Dearborn’s Chancellor Daniel Little and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Kate Davy. Little and Davy will co-emcee both ceremonies.
Additional speakers at the morning ceremony will include Cardi DeMonaco Jr., student; John Cole, alumnus; and Pankaj (P.K) Mallick, the William E. Stirton Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of interdisciplinary programs in CECS at UM-Dearborn.
Additional speakers at the afternoon ceremony will include Jason Davis, student; David Stephens, alumnus; and Deborah Smith-Pollard, associate professor of English at UM-Dearborn.
