Fauci delivers WashU Medicine Commencement speech 2023

Having trained through the pandemic, ‘your journey has been truly exceptional,’ he tells grads

By Huy Mach

“You have completed this first stage of your medical training under conditions none of us could have predicted, and you have not only survived but you have thrived.”

— Anthony S. Fauci, MD, in his Commencement address

Before Anthony S. Fauci, MD, even spoke, he received a standing ovation.

For 55 seconds, applause prevailed during the 2023 MD Commencement ceremony Monday, May 15, at Washington University in St. Louis. The graduates and their loved ones, along with faculty and staff, cheered for Fauci, who recently retired after 38 years as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He also served as medical adviser to seven U.S. presidents. Read more about Fauci’s visit to the School of Medicine.

Published in the Spring 2023 issue