Health equity advocate and law professor Dayna Matthew will deliver Morehouse School of Medicine's 34^th commencement address at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19, in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, 830 Westview Dr. SW, Atlanta, as MSM confers doctoral and master's degrees on students who have fulfilled all requirements.

Author of "Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care," Matthew joined the University of Virginia School of Law faculty in 2017, where she is the William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law and F. Palmer Weber Research Professor of Civil Liberties and Human Rights. She previously taught at the University of Colorado and served as vice dean and associate dean of academic affairs.

Matthew also worked as senior adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Rights in 2015. Two years earlier, she was among the founders of the Colorado Health Equity Project, a medical-legal partnership that worked to remove barriers to good health among low-income residents.

"Dayna's commitment to health equity is underscored by the many roles she has played in shaping public policy that aligns with Morehouse School of Medicine's overarching vision of leading the creation and advancement of health equity," said MSM President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD. "We are honored to have her share that commitment with our graduates."

Matthew, who earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard and law degree from the University of Virginia, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the ceremony.