The 2006-07 academic year is winding down, and, as it does, plans for commencement programs are being finalized at all 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities. Below is a listing of each university’s commencement plans, including its scheduled speaker. Unless otherwise noted, the ceremonies will be held on May 12.

Bloomsburg – Professors Karl Kapp and Joan Benek-Rivera will address undergraduates in separate ceremonies to be held at Redman Stadium. Dr. Kapp, a professor of instructional technology, will address graduates of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Science and Technology at 10 a.m. Dr. Benek-Rivera, chair and associate professor of management, will address members of the Colleges of Professional Studies and Business at 3 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the ceremonies will be moved to the Nelson Field House gymnasium. Graduate commencement will be held at 6 p.m., May 11, in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

California – George Prodan, retired vice president of marketing at Extreme Networks and a 1974 Cal U. alumnus, will address undergraduates. The program will be held beginning at 10 a.m. in Hamer Hall Gymnasium. The ceremony for graduate students will be held at 7 p.m., May 11, also in Hamer Hall. Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, a 1963 graduate of Cal U., will speak.

Cheyney – Comedian Bill Cosby will address students at the commencement convocation. The program will be held at 10 a.m. on the historic Quadrangle. The graduate hooding ceremony will be held at 7 p.m., May 10, in Dudley Hall.

Clarion – Dr. Robert Arbuckle, a 1964 University alumnus, and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty will speak at separate ceremonies to be held in Waldo Tippin Gymnasium. The ceremony for students from the College of Education and Human Services and School of Nursing and Allied Health will begin at 10 a.m. while the ceremony for students from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Business Administration will be held at 2 p.m. Dr. Arbuckle will speak at the 10 a.m. program, where he also will receive the Clarion University President’s Medallion. DEP Secretary McGinty will speak at 2 p.m. and also will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. Students graduating with associate degrees from Clarion University’s Venango campus will participate in a separate ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Robert W. Rhoades Center Auditorium.

East Stroudsburg – PASSHE Chancellor Dr. Judy G. Hample will address both undergraduate and graduate students who will receive their degrees in separate ceremonies to be held in Koehler Fieldhouse. The program for graduate students will be held at 7 p.m., May 11. Undergraduates will receive their degrees at 10 a.m., May 12.

Edinboro – Retiring President Dr. Frank G. Pogue will make remarks. Dr. Pogue and his wife, Dorothy, will receive honorary degrees . The program will be held at 1 p.m. in McComb Fieldhouse.

Indiana – Former Indiana University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Robert Wilburn, who currently serves as the first president and CEO of the Gettysburg Foundation, will speak and will receive an honorary doctorate of laws degree. The program will be held beginning at 11 a.m. at Miller Stadium.

Kutztown – Students Jennifer Conley and Robert Preston and faculty members Elaine Cunfer and Jonathan Kramer will speak at separate ceremonies to be held in Keystone Fieldhouse. Conley and Cunfer will address undergraduate students from the Colleges of Visual and Performing Arts and Education at 11 a.m. Preston and Kramer will speak to undergraduates in the Colleges of Business and Liberal Arts at 4 p.m. A program for graduate students receiving degrees will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Schaeffer Auditorium.

Lock Haven – Myles Brand, chief executive officer of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), will speak to graduates at separate ceremonies that will be held in Thomas Fieldhouse. Students graduating from the College of Arts and Science and from the Master of Liberal Arts program will graduate at 10 a.m. Students graduating from the College of Education and Human Services and from the Master of Alternative Education, Master of Teaching and Learning and Master of Health Science Physician Assistant degree programs will receive their degrees at 2 p.m.

Mansfield – Award-winning author, researcher and sociology professor James Loewen, author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” will address graduates. The ceremony will be held beginning at 11 a.m. at Karl Van Norman Field.

Millersville – U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel will speak. The program will be held beginning at 10 a.m. at Chryst Field in Biemesderfer Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, two separate ceremonies will be held in Pucillo Gymnasium. All graduate students and members of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences will participate in the 10 a.m. ceremony. Those in the Schools of Science and Mathematics and Education will participate in the 2 p.m. ceremony.

Shippensburg – Pamela O’Berry Evans, a 1990 graduate who now serves as a commissioner for the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, is the scheduled speaker. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in Seth Grove Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, commencement will be in Heiges Field House in two separate ceremonies. Members of the School of Graduate Studies, John L. Grove College of Business and the College of Education and Human Services will participate in the 11 a.m. ceremony and members of the College of Arts and Sciences will participate in the 3 p.m. ceremony.

Slippery Rock -- Dr. Martha A. Smith, president of Anne Arundel Community College and a 1970 University alumna, will speak. The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in N. Kerr Thompson Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be moved indoors to Morrow Field House.

West Chester – Kevin M. Kennedy, a 1969 alumnus who serves as the United Nations’ coordinator for humanitarian and development activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, will speak to undergraduates. The program is scheduled for 10 a.m. in John A. Farrell Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, ceremonies will be moved to Hollinger Field House. Students in the Colleges of Business & Public Affairs and Education will receive their degrees at 10 a.m. and those in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Health Sciences and Visual & Performing Arts will receive their degrees at 1:30 p.m. A separate program for graduate students receiving their degrees will be held at 7 p.m., May 14, in the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall in Philips Memorial Building.

With more than 109,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. The 14 PASSHE universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 405,000 PASSHE 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. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.