AMES, Iowa - An estimated 1,581 students will receive degrees from Iowa State University during winter commencement events Dec. 18-19.
The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday,
Dec. 19, in Hilton Coliseum, where an estimated 1,241 students
will receive bachelor's degrees. Dr. Patricia Quinlisk will
address the graduates. She also will receive an honorary Doctor
of Science from Iowa State in recognition of her work as
Iowa's state epidemiologist and medical director of the
Iowa Department of Public Health. As Iowa's chief medical
officer, she is a leading state and national figure in public
health epidemiology, infectious diseases and
bioterrorism.
For more than 30 years, Quinlisk has been a microbiologist,
medical epidemiologist and public health professional, working
in hospitals, clinics, laboratories and public health agencies
around the globe. Quinlisk has served as a Peace Corps
volunteer in Nepal, a medical clerk at hospitals in Alaska and
Micronesia, and an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease
Control. Before becoming Iowa's state epidemiologist in
1994, she worked for three years as in the same position in
Oklahoma.
Quinlisk holds adjunct faculty appointments at Iowa State, the University of Iowa, Des Moines University and the University of Wisconsin, where she teaches and presents lectures on a regular basis. For 12 years, Quinlisk has conducted annual weeklong epidemiologic training courses in Europe. She has authored four book chapters and many peer-reviewed journal articles.
Quinlisk has served as an advisor to the Marine Corps' Chemical/Biologic Incident Response Force and co-chair of the Task Force on National Response to Acute Outbreaks of Food-borne Diseases. A former member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, she has served on several committees for the National Institutes of Medicine and the National Academy of Science. She is a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, and was recently appointed as chair of the National Biodefense Science Board.
Quinlisk earned the Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point; the Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University; and M.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Graduate ceremony
University Professor Joe Sebranek will address the graduates. He is a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences and professor of animal science, and food science and human nutrition.
Sebranek joined Iowa State's faculty in 1975 and has been responsible for teaching and research in meat science with emphasis on meat processing and food safety. He has served as major professor for 20 Ph.D. students and 44 M.S. students. Since 1994, he has been the animal science department's director of graduate education.
Among his many recognitions are: The American Meat Science Association's Meat Processing Award (1986), Distinguished Teaching Award (1995) and Distinguished Research Award (2005); the American Society of Animal Science 's Meats Research Award (2005); and Iowa State's Margaret Ellen White Graduate Faculty Award (1990) "in recognition of excellence as a mentor of graduate students." He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists and the American Society of Animal Science.
Tickets are not required for either graduation ceremony.
Some of ISU's colleges will honor their graduating students
during their own ceremonies and receptions. A complete list of
commencement events is online at
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/graduation/convocation.html