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L to R: Dr. John M. Ferretti, D.O., president and CEO of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, honorary degree recipient, Coach Agnus Berenato, head women’s basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient, JoAnne Boyle, Ph.D., president of Seton Hill University, and Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt.

Seton Hill University (SHU) has recognized the contribution made to health care and medical education by LECOM President John M. Ferretti, D.O., F.A.C.O.I. and Provost Silvia M. Ferretti, D.O.

Seton Hill President Joann Boyle, Ph.D., presented Dr. John Ferretti with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree during the SHU Commencement on May 9, 2009. Dr. Silvia Ferretti was unable to attend the ceremony and will receive her honorary degree at a later time.

Drs. Ferretti have provided the vision and leadership in extending the Erie medical college to an additional location on the Greensburg, Pennsylvania campus of SHU. LECOM at Seton Hill opens in July.

In making the presentation Dr. Boyle gave these remarks:

Dr. John Ferretti, you are the rarest of combinations: practicing physician; teacher; and CEO. As pragmatic as you are curious and compassionate, your innate sense for business, your interest in how best to teach and learn, and your passion for, to use your phrase, “people-oriented medicine,” have led you to the founding of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, the nation’s largest and most progressive school of medicine.

First in Erie, then in Bradenton, Florida, and now at Seton Hill, LECOM’s medical college and school of pharmacy are dedicated to the preparation of the generation of health care professionals who will lead the way in preventive medicine. Your foresight in the planning and designing of their educations, anticipates the urgent and growing need for family doctors who treat the whole person. No legacy in health care will be as lasting or as deep as yours.

The benchmark you are guided by is EXCELLENCE, and there are no compromises. Thoughtful, modest, generous, Dr. John Ferretti, you are a physician respected for your personal discipline, work ethic and dedication to patients, health care and wellness. At a time when the health care profession is under stress, you are a calming, influential and effective advocate for patients and a leader in medical education.

For your innovative spirit, and for the passion you bring to your life’s calling, Seton Hill University is proud to confer on you the degree, Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Nationally recognized University of Pittsburgh head women’s basketball coach, Agnus Berenato, provided the commencement address at the May 9 ceremony. Coach Berenato addressed 261 graduates in the Salvitti Gymnasium of the McKenna Center on Seton Hill’s campus.