For more than half a century, the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University has prepared future physicians, scientists and researchers through excellence in education, discovery and care. The institution's 51st Convocation ceremony, held May 19, 2025, brought together students, faculty, alumni and families to honor that legacy and celebrate the next generation of medical leaders.
From an inaugural graduating class of just 18 in 1974 to 133 graduates in 2025, the Renaissance School of Medicine continues to grow in its mission to train compassionate, skilled medical professionals dedicated to improving lives through science and service.
Keynote Speaker
The keynote speaker for the Renaissance School of Medicine’s 51st Convocation is Susan M. Wolf, JD.
Professor Wolf is a Regents Professor; McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, Medicine & Public Policy; Faegre Drinker Professor of Law; and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. As the Founding Chair of the University-wide Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences, she is a distinguished scholar who specializes in health law, bioethics, and law and science.
An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and The American Law Institute, as well as a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Hastings Center, Professor Wolf’s groundbreaking research—supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Greenwall Foundation, and others—has had major impact on end-of-life care, return of results and incidental findings to research participants, and analysis of emerging technologies including genomics. Her work has resulted in over 200 publications, including in Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). She has served on numerous national panels, including those for NIH, the National Academies, the ABA Coordinating Group on Bioethics and the Law, and the ASRM Ethics Committee. In 2011, she was appointed by the Secretary of Health & Human Services to the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) and served through 2016. She currently sits on the National Academies' Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust.
