MU School of Medicine Holds 2021 Commencement Ceremony

The University of Missouri School of Medicine held its commencement ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at the Hearnes Center.

In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak caused graduation to be entirely virtual. This year, the ceremony was in-person with some restrictions and limitations. Admission was by ticket only, and tickets were only being given to family members and guests of the graduates. Anyone interested was invited to  watch the commencement livestream.

 “Your education here will endure; you are now part of a long legacy of MU School of Medicine graduates,” said Steven Zweig, MD, MSPH, dean of the medical school. “But your contribution will be unique — and we eagerly await seeing how you impact the lives of your patients and the future of medicine.”

This year’s commencement speaker is Elizabeth Malm-Buatsi, MD, assistant professor of surgery.

“We are excited to have graduates in-person again,” said Laine Young-Walker, MD, associate dean for student programs. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate each of our students. We will miss you all.”

Members of the Class of 2021 were in demand — 97% received a residency program match, meaning many hospitals and health systems chose graduating MU medical students as their top candidates.

Today, 122 students graduated. Twenty-six class members spent the last two years at the Springfield Clinical Campus. The Springfield location was established in June 2016 in partnership with the CoxHealth and Mercy health systems.

Having received their medical degrees, these physicians will now go on to receive additional residency training in their chosen specialties. Of the class, 27% will stay at MU for residency training, 37% will remain in the state and 32% will specialize in high-need care fields.

Graduates of the MU School of Medicine consistently score higher than the national average on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). MU School of Medicine graduates are trained, evaluated and expected to be competent in their ability to deliver patient-centered care, including their capability to communicate with the patient, family members and colleagues working as part of an interdisciplinary team.