A Nobel Prize winning chemist and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright will be among the commencement speakers next month as the 14 State System of Higher Education universities hold their Spring graduations. Other speakers will include successful alumni, journalists, politicians and popular professors.

Dr. James H. McCormick will return to Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he served as president for 10 years, to give his final commencement address as chancellor of the State System. McCormick, who was named the State System’s first chancellor in 1983, will become chancellor of the Minnesota State College and University System in July. He was president of Bloomsburg from 1973 to 1983.

The university also will award an honorary doctor of public service degree to State System of Higher Education Board Chairman Emeritus F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. The program will be held at 10 a.m. in Farrell Stadium.

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson will speak May 12 at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wilson, who won both a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for “Fences,” and whose work has been produced on Broadway, at regional theaters across the country and around the world, will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree as part of the day’s activities. Two programs will be held, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., in Tippin Gymnasium.

Other commencement speakers who have been scheduled to appear on State System campuses this Spring are:

· Dr. Rushworth M. Kidder, founder and president of the Institute for Global Ethics. Dr. Kidder will speak May 5 at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. He founded the Institute for Global Ethics in 1990 as an independent, nonsectarian and nonpolitical organization dedicated to elevating public awareness and promoting discussion of ethics in a global context. He also is executive editor of Business Ethics Newsline. The program will be held beginning at 11 a.m. at Karl Van Norman Field.

· U.S. Rep. Todd Platts. A 1984 graduate of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Rep. Platts will speak during commencement exercises to be held May 5 at his alma mater. The program will begin at 11 a.m. in Seth Grove Stadium.

· Eleanore Childs, founder and executive director of the Heartwood Institute. Dr. Childs also will receive an honorary degree from California University of Pennsylvania during commencement exercises scheduled for 10 a.m. May 12 in Hamer Hall.

· Pennsylvania Labor and Industry Secretary Johnny J. Butler. Mr. Butler will speak May 12 at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. The program will be held at 11 a.m. on The Quadrangle.

· U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood. Rep. Sherwood will speak May 12 at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 10 a.m. in Koehler Fieldhouse.

· Former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives K. Leroy Irvis. Mr. Irvis will address graduates May 12 at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He also will receive an honorary doctor of public service degree during the ceremonies, which will be held at 1 p.m. in the McComb Fieldhouse.

· Political analyst and award-winning journalist James Carney. Mr. Carney will address graduates May 12 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 11 a.m. in George P. Miller Stadium.

· Daniel P. Elby, co-founder and chief executive officer of Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, Inc. Mr. Elby will speak will speak May 12 at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater. Mr. Elby is a member of the State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors and Lock Haven University’s Council of Trustees. His mother, Vivienne Potter Elby, will receive an honorary doctor of public service degree for her role in recruiting nearly two dozen African-American students to Lock Haven University. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Hubert Jack Stadium.

· William Kristol, editor and publisher of the influential Washington-based political magazine, The Weekly Standard. Mr. Kristol will speak May 12 at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The commencement ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Biemesderfer Stadium.

· State Rep. Richard Stevenson. The Mercer County Republican lawmaker will speak May 12 at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 11 a.m. in N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

· Dr. Edward Simpson, a professor of physical sciences at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Simpson was selected by representatives of the senior class to present the graduation address. He Simpson received international recognition for his study of tidal origins in South Africa. The graduation program will begin at 10 a.m., May 19, in Keystone Hall.

With more than 96,000 students, the State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 360,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.