Everett Alvarez, Jr., the first American aviator shot down over North Vietnam, will serve as keynote speaker at commencement ceremonies for the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Saturday, May 19.
More than 160 students are expected to graduate this May from the UNT Health Science Center. Commencement will be held at 2 p.m. in Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth's Cultural District. A reception will follow the ceremony.
Alvarez was taken prisoner of war Aug. 5, 1964, and held in North Vietnam for eight and a half years, until the general release of prisoners Feb. 12, 1973. He continued to serve in the U.S. Navy until his retirement in 1980. He remained in public service as the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps and later as Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration. Today, he has his own consulting company, Conwal Incorporated, in McLean, Virginia.
He is past chairman of and currently sits on the Board of Regents, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He is also on the Board of Directors for the National Graduate University.
Alvarez has written two autobiographical books, Chained Eagle and Code of Conduct.
He holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Santa Clara, a master's degree from the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School, and a Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University School of Law.
This year marks the 28th year that the health science center has granted diplomas. The institution was founded in 1970 as the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated its first physicians in 1974. Today, the University of North Texas Health Science Center is composed of three graduate schools and trains osteopathic physicians, scientists, public health officers, physician assistants and other health professionals.
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The University of North Texas Health Science Center is composed of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The center's six Institutes for Discovery conduct leading-edge research on select health issues, including vision, aging, cancer, heart disease, and public health. A 110-member physician group practice, The Physicians & Surgeons Medical Group, manages 188,000 Fort Worth-area patient visits yearly. The institution injects some $244.3 million into Tarrant County and Texas' economies annually.
Media can access additional information by visiting the UNT Health Science Center website at www.hsc.unt.edu.
Media contacts:
Kristie Aylett, APR, 817-735-2553, pager 1-877-497-0714Carroll Cole, 817-735-5152, pager 1-877-306-4299
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