Carleton College will award the Bachelor of Arts degree to the 505 graduating members of the Class of 2017 onSaturday,June 10, in a ceremony beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the lawn west of Hulings Hall on the Carleton campus. A celebratory picnic on the Bald Spot will follow. In the event of severe weather, commencement will be held indoors at the Recreation Center. Seating is available to accommodate all guests, whether outdoors or indoors, and no tickets are required. The ceremony will also be broadcasted live online (https://apps.carleton.edu/events/commencement/livestream/).

Following President Steve Poskanzers opening remarks,Reina Desrouleaux '17, chemistry major from Silver Spring,Maryland (whose speech is titled [insert meaningful life experience here]) and Eli Ruffer '17, chemistry major from Highland Park, Illinois (whose speech is titled Tyler, the Prospective Student)will address the Class of 2017, families and friends, and faculty. In additionally, Carleton College will confer an honorary doctorate upon Kathy L. Hudson 82, former Deputy Director for Science, Outreach, and Policy at the National Institutes of Health, who will briefly address the class.

The highest honor given by the College, conferred honoris causafor the sake of honorthis years honorary degree recipient is Dr. Kathy L. Hudson, former Deputy Director for Science, Outreach, and Policy at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Throughout her distinguished career, Hudson has served the public by ensuring that advances in genomics and other rapidly moving areas of medical research are paired with wise and effective public policies.

After earning a B.A. in biology from Carleton College and a M.S. in microbiology from the University of Chicago, Hudson obtained her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Although she trained for a career in research, Hudson discovered that her real passion was science policy. As an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in Washington DC, she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and then the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

After a stint in the office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, Hudson joined the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) as assistant director. While there she made a compelling case to scientists, public policy experts, and lawmakers about the need for federal legislation to guard against genetic discrimination. She also helped to broker an historic agreement between the public and private human genome projects, which was announced by President Bill Clinton in the White House in 2000.

In 2002, Hudson left NHGRI to found and direct the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University. She became a leader in educating and advising about science and policy issues in genetics. Also at Hopkins, Hudson was an Associate Professor in the Institute of Bioethics and the Institute of Genetic Medicine. It was Hudson who did much of the work to assemble the talented and dedicated team that, in 2008 after years of effort, achieved passage of the landmark Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

In 2009, Hudson returned to the National Institutes of Health, becoming the Deputy Director for Science, Outreach, and Policy. In that capacity helped found and launch the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. She also had a major hand in the design and launch of three national scientific projects the BRAIN Initiative, the Precision Medicine Initiative, and the Cancer Moonshot. In addition, she led efforts to revise the rules that govern participation of human subjects in research, modernize clinical trial reporting, expand scientific data sharing, and develop appropriate oversight for rapidly moving areas of medical research, including stem cells and gene editing.

On top of her many duties and responsibilities, Hudson made time to serve as a strong and tireless advocate for the role of women in science. She personally mentored a group of young women who are now moving into key leadership roles with a wide range of innovative biomedical research and policy initiatives.

Earlier this year Hudson left government service, and is working as an advisor to companies and research institutes as they forge new directions at the forefront of biomedical research.

For further information, including disability accommodations, contact the Carleton College Office of College Communications at(507) 222-4309or emailkraadt@carleton.edu. The commencement site is located on the Carleton campus between College and Winona Streets in Northfield.

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Carleton College to hold its 143rd Commencement Ceremony June 10 - Carleton College News