Former surgeon general to speak at UC Davis

FORMER SURGEON GENERAL TO SPEAK AT UC DAVIS Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders will speak on "Health Care in the 21st Century" at the commencement of the UC Davis School of Medicine at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12. Appointed the country's chief medical officer in 1993, Elders angered conservatives with her provocative statements on sexuality, drug legalization, abortion and religious conservatives. As a result of her comments on masturbation in December 1994, President Clinton asked for her resignation. Elders is now a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Her research has focused on the growth of children and the treatment of hormone-related illnesses. A sharecropper's daughter who didn't see a physician until her first year in college, she emphasized the importance of preventative care during Senate hearings on her confirmation as surgeon general. "I want to change the way we think about health by putting prevention first," she said. "I want to be the voice and vision of the poor and powerless. I want to change concern about social problems that affect health into commitment." The recipient of many honorary degrees, Elders also has received awards from the National Governors' Association and the American Medical Association. The medical school will award 87 Doctor of Medicine degrees during the ceremony on the Health Sciences Quadrangle of the Davis campus. Elders will be available for media interviews from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 104 of Medical Sciences Building 1C.

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Julia Ann Easley, General news (emphasis: business, K-12 outreach, education, law, government and student affairs), 530-752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu