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Nirav D. Shah to address UMaine Farmington commencement
The commencement ceremony will be held on May 10, 2025 at the Narrow Gauge Outdoor Venue in downtown Farmington.
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Bhavana P - Wed, 30, Apr 2025
- 16:04 EDT
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Nirav D Shah / Colby College
The University of Maine at Farmington has named Indian-American epidemiologist Nirav Dinesh Shah, as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2025.
Shah, the former Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is widely recognized for leadership as the director of the Maine CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also read: Vivek Murthy, Siddhartha Mukherjee to address Columbia Medicine’s 2025 commencement
His career has spanned roles as a healthcare attorney, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. In 2023, he briefly served as Acting Director of the U.S. CDC. Recently, he returned to Maine to lead a public health education initiative at Colby College.
“We are honored to have Nirav Shah as this year’s Commencement Speaker. He became a daily presence in the lives of Mainers as he led the state’s response to the Covid 19 pandemic, which was a significant event in the lives of our students and families. His professionalism, compassion and leadership are a wonderful example for our new graduates as they chart their own career pathways as tomorrow’s leaders,” said university president Joseph McDonnell.
Born to Indian immigrants and raised in Wisconsin, Shah holds degrees from the University of Louisville, the University of Oxford, and the University of Chicago, where he earned both his J.D. and M.D.
A Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow, he began his public health journey as an economist and epidemiologist for the Cambodian Ministry of Health, where he helped manage responses to SARS and avian flu outbreaks.
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