President Farias Eisner
To WesternU’s Class of 2024,

A lifetime of hard work, dedication and determination has brought each of you to this pivotal moment in your life. Congratulations on a job well done!

I encourage you to celebrate this achievement with all those who helped you reach this extraordinary milestone — family, friends, fellow students, faculty, staff, and mentors.

Commencement is the acme for our entire University. We celebrate the effort and success of some 1,000 students poised to join their colleagues among the health professions. We revel in the joy and excitement of our graduates, their families and loved ones, and the entire WesternU community who supported you along the way.

Your education prepares you to enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities. The protection and improvement of public health is “what we do.” There is no better testament to our mission than your ambassadorship!

The Class of 2024 exemplifies all the qualities that make WesternU a special place, and your institutional legacy is assured to be forever known as a class that persevered through a worldwide pandemic and prevailed! As a WesternU graduate, you are prepared to embody humanism through caring, respect, empathy, trust, diversity, and inclusion of all you serve.

Commencement celebrates the important end to one part of your education, but it also means “a beginning or start.” You will learn a great deal more as you take your place among the healers of the world, with all the opportunities and responsibilities inherent to the role. Your skilled hands and compassionate hearts will foster wellness for individuals and communities the world over.

I am honored to officiate — and celebrate — this Commencement with you. I very much look forward to hearing of your many accomplishments as one of our alumni.

Again, congratulations as you embark upon a bright future!

My very warmest wishes to each one of you, and know that you will forever be a part of the WesternU family!

Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA
President, Western University of Health Sciences

Family Hooding Ceremony

A Moment of Honor

Western University of Health Sciences proudly offers our graduates the opportunity to have two adult family members/friends join them on stage to bestow them with the academic hood signifying their degree. At that special moment, you, the family hooder, will be honoring your graduate for their years of hard work. At the same time, by your presence on stage, you will be recognized for the contributions you’ve made along the way. It will truly be a moment of honor.

Family hooders are encouraged to read more and watch a short video on the Ceremony and Celebrations page.

Commencement History

WesternU’s annual Commencement ceremonies play an important role in the culture and traditions of the University, which was established in 1977 and now spans two states, California and Oregon. At these ceremonies, the University marshal, designated by the University mace, proudly starts the ceremony by leading the graduands into the auditorium. The faculty and administration soon follow and take their place on stage, eager to welcome their newest peers into the professional world of medicine. Graduands are then presented with colorful hoods that represent their specific area of study. As the University continues to grow and evolve, these traditions serve as a reminder of WesternU’s notable history and set the standard for countless opportunities to come.

Looking Back

Tradition

ACADEMIC REGALIA

Learn about the history of academic regalia, the president's distinct attire and the significance of your graduate's gown and hood colors.

Regalia worn in procession today trace origins to medieval universities, when all faculty were in religious orders and obliged to be properly gowned. Beyond ecclesiastical functions, robes marked clerics from the lay populace and also served well in unheated buildings of the day...

POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

We invite you to learn more about the key ritual elements that are seen at WesternU’s ceremonies. They symbolize our rich history and honored traditions.

Maces date from at least 1200 as heavy weapons borne by Sergeants-at-Arms meant to protect the King’s person. By the 14th century maces had become purely ceremonial, and increasingly decorative, symbols of royal or other institutional authority. The University Mace is a…

LOOKING BACK

From the first keynote address in 1982 given by Dixon Arnett to the 2019 address by the first woman governor of Oregon, Barbara Roberts, the WesternU family has been honored with inspirational and influential speakers for years.

Each year, hundreds of graduates leave Commencement with the keynote address fresh in their minds. WesternU prides itself on providing these future medical professionals with a message that will resonate for years to come.

Looking Forward

We know that future planning is important, so we’ve provided the dates of commencement through 2027.