A bright future in life sciences: Rowan-Virtua SNHP and TBES Commencement 2025

On Thursday, May 15, the Rowan-Virtua Rita & Larry Salva School of Nursing & Health Professions (SNHP) and the Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering & Sciences (TBES) came together to celebrate the graduates of the Class of 2025 in a joint ceremony held on Rowan University’s main campus. The two schools, both components of Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences, recognized the accomplishments of the gathered undergraduate, master’s and doctoral candidates. 

SNHP Dean Peter Rattigan opened the ceremony with a welcome to all in attendance and a recognition of special guests including Virtua Health executive vice president and chief clinical officer Jennifer Khelil. Rattigan praised the graduates, describing them as supportive collaborators poised to shape their fields with compassion and excellence. 

“This class is full of students who assisted one another, worked hard, and were an essential part of whatever the next step forward is going to be,” he said.  

Dean Rattigan made special mention of the 28 graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy program, noting that they are “the first and only” such program “in the entire state of New Jersey, with 100 percent of the inaugural cohort graduating today.” 

Following Dean Rattigan, TBES Interim Dean Dianne Langford took the lectern. She noted that scientific study can be an emotional journey where failure is so often a necessary step on the path to a breakthrough.  

“You rose to the challenge! You persevered,” she said. “When your experiments failed or your data made no sense, you pivoted, repeated, retested, and thought outside of the box. And you made it!” 

The ceremony concluded with Respiratory Therapy graduate Tyra Babb leading her classmates in the tossing of the tassel. “I am proud of each and every one of my fellow graduates,” she said. “The future of health care is in great hands.  Now the end is here, allowing one door to close while another one opens. Let’s walk confidently through that door, not only as health care professionals, but advocates for those who need us the most.”