Wright Institute PsyD Commencement Held on Sunday, June 7, 2015

Forty-nine students graduating with doctoral degrees from the Wright Institute in the past academic year were honored at the Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, June 7, 2015. Following the welcome and opening remarks from President Peter Dybwad, JD, and Dean Gilbert Newman, PhD, respectively, the commencement address was delivered by Lonnie Snowden,PhD.

Dr. Snowden is a professor in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health. He also serves as a faculty member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of California San Francisco-UC Berkeley, and in the Health Services and Policy Analysis PhD Program at UC Berkeley. Dr. Snowden is an affiliated professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology.

Distinguished dissertation awards were given to two students at Commencement: The Wright Institute Outstanding Dissertation Award conferred for excellence in any area of study, and the Richard Alan Smith Scholar's Award in the areas of consciousness, cross-cultural and minority concerns, and the origins, evolution, and role of language. Ian Donnelly Faerstein received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for his work entitled "Validation of a Fidelity Scale for Accelerated-Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy." Virgil Moorehead received the Richard Alan Smith Scholar's Award for his study on "Digital Storytelling and Urban American Indians: Exploring Participant Experiences.