A graduate poses with a loved one after the commencement ceremony for School of Allied Health Professions.

The School of Allied Health Professions kicked off the first of Loma Linda University’s five conferring of degrees ceremonies at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, June 12. Loma Linda University's June 10 to 12 commencement weekend follows ceremonies for the Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Medicine which were held May 27 to 29.

Families began arriving on the Loma Linda campus two hours before graduation began.

As the ceremony began, Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, introduced the graduates for the first time as alumni of Loma Linda University. 

Two thousand sixteen marks the 50th Anniversary of the School of Allied Health Professions, and faculty and graduates wore commemorative medallions to mark the occasion. In 1966, several of Loma Linda University’s schools and programs were consolidated as the School of Health Related Professions (now the School of Allied Health Professions).

The School of Allied Health Professions' class of 2016 include graduates of the departments of allied health studies, cardiopulmonary sciences, clinical laboratory science, health informatics and information management, radiation technology, nutrition and dietetics and physician assistant. This year, the school graduated its first class of five students in the nuclear medicine technology program.

A second ceremony was held at 10:30 a.m. for the school's departments of communication sciences & disorders, occupational therapy, orthotics & prosthetics and physical therapy.