2010
Gillian M. Shepherd, Honorary Degree Recipient
Gillian M. Shepherd 1970 is presented the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.
Read the citation for her degree below:
Excellence in the practice of medicine requires the soul of a scientist, the heart of an educator and the head of an academic. Gillian M. Shepherd, you bring all of that together as a renowned clinician, researcher, teacher and public health advocate.
After graduating from Wheaton, you pursued graduate study at Tufts University and earned a medical degree from New York Medical College. Since then, you have built a successful private practice, and through your research, you have become a leading expert on patients’ adverse reactions to drugs and other therapies.
The general public knows you best from your appearances on network television, where you show a gift for conveying complex information in vivid and easy-to-understand ways. That skill, which your patients undoubtedly appreciate, is also on display in the book you co-authored: What’s in the Air: The Complete Guide to Seasonal and Year Round Airborne Allergies.
You also share your expertise as a clinical associate professor of medicine at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College. Your commitment to education shows in the four national teaching awards you have received from the American College of Physicians. It also drives your contributions to Wheaton, where you have lectured, participated in student programs and served on the college’s Science Advisory Committee.
You once observed, “Today allergies are booming. And unlike the stock market, this trend has been rising steadily.” Dr. Shepherd, like your patients, we are glad that you have invested yourself in this field. We admire your achievements in science and your commitment to education and are honored to bestow upon you the degree of Honorary Doctor of Science.