University Times

Pitt alumna U.S. Lt. General Patricia D. Horoho, the 43rd Army surgeon general and the commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command — the first woman to hold these positions — will be the featured speaker at this year’s commencement exercises. The ceremony, which will include the presentation to Horoho of an honorary doctoral degree, is set for 1 p.m. April 29 at the Petersen Events Center.

From the position of U.S. Army staff nurse in 1982, Horoho has risen to several leadership roles, including commander of the Western Regional Medical Command in Fort Lewis, Wash.; commander of the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., and commander of the DeWitt Health Care Network at Fort Belvoir, Va. She also was Army deputy surgeon general and was deployed in Afghanistan as special assistant to the commander.

While holding the rank of colonel, she became the first woman and the first nurse to be named commander of the Walter Reed Health Care System, where she coordinated the health care needs of 150,000 service personnel, family members and retirees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and 10 other military facilities.

A 1992 Pitt School of Nursing alumna, Horoho was honored as a Distinguished Alumni Fellow in February; she was named a Pitt Legacy Laureate in 2007.