Weill Cornell Medicine celebrated the graduation of 447 students Thursday during commencement ceremonies at Carnegie Hall, marking a milestone year that included the institution’s first separate ceremony for graduate school students.
The Class of 2026 included 108 medical doctors, 28 physician assistants, 86 doctoral graduates and 225 students earning master of science degrees, according to the institution. The separate commencement for the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences reflected what officials described as a significant expansion of the school’s master’s degree programs.
Michael I. Kotlikoff joined Robert A. Harrington and other institutional leaders in conferring degrees during the ceremonies May 14.
In remarks to graduates, Kotlikoff tied Cornell’s founding mission to the future of healthcare and medical research, referencing founder Ezra Cornell’s vision of creating a university “where any person can find instruction in any study.”
“The idea that individuals from different backgrounds, different cultures and different viewpoints could work together was a radical idea in 1865,” Kotlikoff said during the ceremony. “But it has, of course, proven to be the essential strategy underlying successful modern medicine and the delivery of equitable and excellent healthcare.”
Graduates crossed Carnegie Hall’s Perelman Stage before classmates, relatives and friends, with medical students also participating in the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath.
University officials said the ceremonies highlighted the growing role of interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare, biomedical research and academic medicine.
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