Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, will deliver Emory University’s 2021 commencement address for the Emory College of Arts and Sciences graduation ceremony on May 16.

“During the past year, the name Fauci has become synonymous with truth, clarity, and medical expertise,” Emory president Gregory L. Fenves said in a release.

“”Emory’s motto, ‘the wise heart seeks knowledge,’ is exemplified by Dr. Fauci’s many decades of public service,” Fenves said. “Indeed, it is his wise heart, and the knowledge he has provided, that have helped us get through a year like no other.”

Fauci will also receive the Emory President’s Medal, “conferred upon distinguished university guests whose impact on the world has enhanced the prospect of peace or enriched cultural achievement,” according to the release.

Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious disease and White House chief medical advisor, has been at the forefront of the nation’s response to the Covid pandemic.

Due to the pandemic, Fauci will delivery the address virtually from Washington D.C.

In 2003, Fauci received an honorary degree from Emory. At the time, he spoke to students about the importance of being “perpetual students” who are never finished learning.

“The next lesson is that you must be prepared for virgin territory, the unexpected, and great changes, even in fields that may now seem very well established,” Fauci said in 2003.

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