Honorary Doctor of Science
Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, founder and director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Medical Center Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, was responsible for uncovering the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which began in 2014 when the city switched its water supply from the Detroit system to the Flint River. The move was a cost-saving measure that resulted in toxic lead contamination and coinciding outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease.

A pediatrician, scientist, and activist, Hanna-Attisha has testified twice before Congress, was awarded the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and countless other media outlets championing the cause of children in Flint and beyond. She is founding donor of the Flint Child Health and Development Fund.

Hanna-Attisha earned her bachelor’s and master of public health degrees from the University of Michigan and her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She is an associate professor of pediatrics and human development at MSU’s College of Human Medicine.

Her bestselling book, What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, is a riveting, beautifully rendered account of a disaster that became a tale of activism and hope, the story of a city that came together to fight for justice and the right to build a better world for their—and all of our—children.

Hanna-Attisha will give her remarks and receive her honorary doctorate virtually during URI’s main Commencement ceremony that will run May 21 through May 23.