Trinity University will hold two commencement exercises recognizing the academic accomplishments of more than 500 students on Saturday, May 12.
The ceremony for 45 students receiving master’s degrees in teaching, school psychology, and accounting is at 9 a.m. in the Parker Chapel. No tickets are necessary for admission.
The ceremony for 465 undergraduates is at 10:30 a.m. in Laurie Auditorium. Tickets are required, although open seating and live-streaming will be available in classrooms near the auditorium. At the undergraduate commencement, the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship Award will be announced recognizing a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and advising students. Speakers include Dr. Mark W. Kline ’79, an internationally respected leader in pediatric HIV/AIDS and global child health, and Sophia Arriazola ’18, a neuroscience and psychology major from Houston who will represent the graduating class.
Kline is the physician-in-chief of Texas Children’s Hospital and the Ralph D. Feigin Chair and J.S. Abercrombie Professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Under his leadership, the Department of Pediatrics has more than doubled in size in nine years to become the largest in the U.S. with more than 1,300 faculty members.
Kline has been the recipient and principal investigator for more than $150 million in research grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has authored more than 250 scientific articles and textbook chapters and is editor-in-chief of Rudolph’s Pediatrics, one of the world’s most widely recognized and read medical textbooks.
The founder and president of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) at Texas Children’s Hospital, Kline has helped provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment to more than 350,000 of the world’s poorest and least fortunate children and families, more than any other organization worldwide.
Kline, the 2007-08 Trinity Distinguished Alumnus, received a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in biology from Trinity and received his M.D. degree (with honors) from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed pediatric residency training, chief residency, and a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital and is certified in both pediatrics and infectious diseases by the American Board of Pediatrics.
Arriazola’s experience as a resident assistant for three years was one of the most important and meaningful roles she has ever had. She also was a coordinator in the Children’s Research Lab of psychology professor Jane Childers, where she studied how children learn to use verbs. Last fall, Arriazola presented research about her work at a conference for the Social Development Society in Portland, Ore. She is the membership and retention chair for the Trinity chapter of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and is a member of the Trinity University Latino Association (TULA).
After graduating, Arriazola, a first-generation student, will attend a health profession program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
Receptions will immediately follow each of the ceremonies on the Esplanade and inside the Coates Student Center. Both ceremonies will be live-streamed on the Tiger Network.
For more information, contact Trinity University’s Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing at 210-999-8406.
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