April 29, 2002

Hollywood agent, MTV producer among 2002 commencement speakers slated for State System campuses

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

A topHollywood agent and a senior producer for the Music Television network (MTV) will return to their alma maters next month as graduating seniors from the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities make their final curtain calls on campus.

Dolores Robinson, singled out as one of the top dealmakers in Hollywood by the Hollywood Reporter, will speak during commencement ceremonies at her alma mater, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, while Bob Kusbit, senior vice president of production for MTV, will address Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s graduating class. Both programs will be held May 11.

Others scheduled to appear as commencement speakers on State System university campuses over the next several weeks include Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, and Dwayne Ashley, president of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, both based in Washington, D.C.

Robinson graduated from West Chester in 1958 and began her career as a teacher, first in the Neshaminy School District, then in the Philadelphia School District. She later went to work for KYW in Philadelphia, where she served both as public relations director and as an on-air personality.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1974, taking a job answering telephones in a talent agency, eventually becoming an agent herself and forming her own agency, Dolores Robinson Entertainment. Her clients have included Levar Burton, Wesley Snipes, Martin Sheen, Rosie Perez, Emilio Esteves, Randy Quaid, Powers Booth, Pierce Brosnan, Linda Fiorentino, Kadeem Hardison, Harry Hamlin and her own daughter, Holly Robinson Peete.

West Chester’s commencement program is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Farrell Stadium.

Kusbit, a 1983 Clarion University graduate, directs more than 75 percent of MTV’s programming, including shows such as Total Request Live, Spring Break and Time’s Square New Year’s Eve.

Two programs will be held at Clarion, both in Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium. The College of Education and Human Services and School of Nursing ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m. and the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business Administration ceremonies will begin at 2 p.m.

Edelman also will speak May 11, at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, which will present her with an honorary doctor of public service degree. Edelman, an advocate for disadvantaged children her entire professional life, is one of the nation’s strongest voices for children and families.

A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, she began her career in the mid-1960s, when, as the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP legal defense and educational funds in Jackson. Edelman has received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime award for her writings, which include five books.

Shippensburg’s graduation ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Seth Grove Stadium.

Ashely will speak May 11 at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund the only national organization to provide merit scholarships, programmatic and capacity-building support to the 45 public Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. The program will be held at 11 a.m. on the historic quadrangle.

Other commencement speakers scheduled to appear on State System campuses are:

· Charles Ogletree, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. Ogletree will speak May 4 at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 11 a.m. at Karl Van Norman Field. In the event of inclement weather, ceremonies will be held in Decker Gymnasium.

· Frank D’Amelio, chief financial officer of Lucent Technologies. D’Amelio will speak May 11 at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 2:15 p.m. at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds.

· Dr. Judy G. Hample, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Dr. Hample will speak May 11 at California University of Pennsylvania. Commencement ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Hamer Hall.

· Dr. Richard W. Leland, professor of speech and communications at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Leland will speak May 11 at East Stroudsburg. The program will begin at 10 a.m. in Koehler Field House.

· Former Pennsylvania House of Representatives Speaker K. Leroy Irvis and Donald Alstadt, chairman emeritus of Lord Corporation. Irvis and Alstadt will speak May 11 at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Both also will receive honorary doctor of public service degrees. The program will be held beginning at 1 p.m. in McComb Field House.

· Christine Jack Toretti, chairman and chief executive officer of S.W. Jack Drilling Company. Ms. Toretti, who is a member of the State System’s Board of Governors, will speak May 11 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she also will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. The program will be held starting at 11 a.m. in Miller Stadium.

· Dr. G. Terry Madonna, chairman of the Government and Political Affairs Department and director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Madonna will speak May 11 at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. Ceremonies will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Hubert Jack Stadium.

· William L. Davis, president and chief executive officer of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. Davis will speak May 11 at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The program is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Biemesderfer Stadium.

· Former Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania President Herb F. Reinhard Jr. Dr. Reinhard will receive an honorary degree and serve as speaker May 11 at Slippery Rock. The program will begin at 11 a.m. in N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

· Dr. Anne E. Zayaitz, professor of biology at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Zayaitz will speak May 18 at Kutztown. Ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. in the Keystone Field House.

With more than 98,600 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.