The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) will celebrate its Class of 2025 commencement ceremony on Monday, May 12, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with a keynote address from Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, who served as the 18th United States Surgeon General from 2009 to 2013.
Dr. Benjamin serves on the boards of directors for the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and is a member of its Quality and Health Improvement and Community Health Committees. During the ceremony, Dr. Benjamin will be presented with KPSOM’s very first honorary degree, a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, that recognizes her outstanding contributions to the medical field.
“We are honored that Dr. Benjamin, a renowned healthcare leader, will be addressing KPSOM’s 2025 graduating class,” said John L. Dalrymple, MD, KPSOM Dean and CEO. “Her advocacy in support of disease prevention, experience in rural health, commitment to affordable healthcare and under-resourced patients, and deep ties to higher education make Dr. Benjamin an ideal commencement speaker for our future-physicians.”
“As the population ages, more physicians begin to retire, and the demand for healthcare services increases, the focus on educating and training future physicians becomes even more imperative,” Dalrymple noted. “This is a particularly critical time to hear from a leader who has played a pivotal role in developing and enriching our nation’s health standards and research priorities.”
Dr. Benjamin is founder and CEO of BayouClinic/Gulf States Health Policy Center in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and her influence within the health sphere centers largely on the advancement of preventive healthcare nationally and internationally. She was the first person under age 40 to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees and became the first African American female president of a state medical society in the U.S. when she assumed leadership of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in 2002. She previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, President of the American Medical Association (AMA) Education and Research Foundation, and Chair of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Additionally, Dr. Benjamin is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She was chosen as a Kellogg National Fellow, a Rockefeller Next Generation Leader, and serves on the corporate boards of TruBridge, Doximity, and several private companies.
Dr. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Xavier University in New Orleans, a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University. She attended Morehouse School of Medicine and completed her Family Medicine residency in Macon, Georgia. Additionally, Dr. Benjamin has received more than 30 honorary degrees, and her past accolades include being named one of the “Nation’s 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under” by Time Magazine; being ranked No. 22 of the “100 Most Trusted People in America” by Reader’s Digest; receiving a MacArthur Genius Award Fellowship; and being the U.S. recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.
Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. on May 12 for KPSOM’s Class of 2025 commencement and the ceremony is scheduled to begin promptly at 5:30 p.m.
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