April 27, 2012

PASSHE universities schedule spring commencement ceremonies

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – The 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities will hold their spring commencement ceremonies during the first two weekends of May.

Several of the universities will bring back successful alumni to address their latest graduating class. Cheyney University of Pennsylvania will continue its year-long 175th anniversary celebration by welcoming to the speaker’s podium the Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the nation’s foremost religious and civil rights leaders.

Below is a complete listing of program dates and scheduled speakers:

Bloomsburg – Alumnus David Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, will speak at BU’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies to be held May 12 on the Academic Quadrangle. Graduates from the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Education will receive their degrees at 10 a.m. while those from the Colleges of Business and Science and Technology will be awarded their diplomas at 3 p.m. Williams graduated from Bloomsburg University in 1981 and joined Make-A-Wish in January 2005 after 10 years with Habitat for Humanity International, where he rose to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Ceremonies for graduate students receiving their degrees will be held at 6 p.m., May 11, in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

California – Maj. Gen. Donna Barbisch, a 1984 Cal U. graduate who spent 38 year in the U.S. Army and now is president of Global Deterrence Alternatives and director of the Institute for Global and Regional Readiness, will address undergraduates at 10 a.m., May 12, in the Convocation Center.

Dr. Robert Delamontagne, ’66, president of Fairview Imprints LLC, will address graduate students who will receive their degrees at 7 p.m., May 11, in the Convocation Center. Delamontagne is the best-selling author of The Retiring Mind® series of books on retirement, and founder and past chairman of EduNeering Inc. (now Kaplan EduNeering), one of the first online learning companies serving the healthcare industry.

Cheyney – The Reverend Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures, will address graduates at 11 a.m., May 12, on the historic Quadrangle.

Clarion – Alumna Jane France and her husband Chris Allison will speak at separate morning and afternoon ceremonies, May 12, in Tippin Gymnasium. Both also will receive honorary degrees. Students graduating from the Colleges of Business Administration and Education and Human Services will receive their degrees in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Those from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Nursing and Allied Health and the Division of Student Affairs will be awarded their degrees during a 2 p.m. ceremony.

Clarion University President Karen Whitney will address associate degree recipients at 7:30 p.m., May 12, in the Robert W. Rhoades Center gymnasium on the Venango campus.

East Stroudsburg – Timothy J. White, a 1983 ESU graduate and managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will address undergraduates receiving their degrees at separate ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., May 12. Students in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Education will receive their degrees during the morning program, while those in the Colleges of Business and Management and Health Sciences will be awarded their degrees during the afternoon ceremony. Both programs will be held in Koehler Fieldhouse.

Bruce Frassinelli, a 1961 ESU alumnus, journalist and educator, will speak at the graduate commencement ceremony at 7 p.m., May 11, also in Koelher Fieldhouse.

Edinboro – Former Congresswoman Kathleen A. Dahlkemper, ’82, will be the speaker for the undergraduate ceremony scheduled for 1 p.m., May 12, in McComb Fieldhouse. Graduate degrees will be awarded at 10 a.m., May 12, in Louis C. Cole Auditorium-Memorial Hall. . This will be the first time in its history that will hold two ceremonies.

Indiana - Clyde Mills McGeary, a 1954 graduate and distinguished artist and art educator who is credited with creating the Arts in Education Movement, will speak at separate ceremonies scheduled for 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., May 12, in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. Students in the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Math, Fine Arts and Health and Human Services will receive their degrees during the morning ceremony. Those in the Colleges of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences and Business will participate in the afternoon program.

Kutztown – Student and faculty speakers will address separate ceremonies scheduled for 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., May 12, in O’Pake Fieldhouse. Degree recipients from the Colleges of Education and Business will participate in the morning program. Christopher M. Kimmel, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in elementary education; Kate Auchenbach, who will receive a master’s degree in secondary education/English; and Dr. Christopher Bloh, assistant professor of special education, are the scheduled speakers. Those receiving degrees from the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Visual & Performing Arts will participate in the afternoon program. The scheduled speakers are Abby N. Rhone, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in English and professional writing; Rachel A. Paashaus, who will receive a master’s degree in social work; and Dr. Anke Walz, associate professor of mathematics.

Lock Haven - Stephen C. Tweed, ’70, the CEO of Leading Health Care, will speak at separate ceremonies scheduled for May 11 and 12 in Thomas Fieldhouse. Tweed is a nationally known healthcare and business strategist, professional speaker, author and consultant. Students in the College of Education and Human Services will receive their degrees at 7:30 p.m., May 11. Those in the College of Arts and Sciences will participate in the program scheduled for 10 a.m., May 12.

Mansfield - Harold C. Shields, principal in Harold C. Shields HR Consulting, LLC, and a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors, will address graduates at 11 a.m., May 12, in Decker Gymnasium. Shields also is a member of the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees, and is a past member of the Edinboro University Foundation’s Board of Directors and Alumni Board. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Edinboro.

Millersville - James E. Nevels, founder and chairman of the Swarthmore Group, will address undergraduates who will receive their degrees in a ceremony to be held at 10 a.m., May 12, in Biemesderfer Stadium. Nevels previously served as chairman of the advisory committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a presidential appointment, and as head of the School District of Philadelphia. He will receive an honorary degree during the program. Graduate students will receive their degrees at a ceremony to be held at 6:30 p.m., May 11, in Pucillo Gymnasium.

Shippensburg – Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Justice Thomas G. Saylor will present the commencement address during the undergraduate ceremony to be held at 11 a.m., May 5, in Seth Grove Stadium.

University alumnus Conrad Jackson, senior business analyst with Volvo Construction Equipment in Shippensburg, will address graduate students who will receive their degrees in a ceremony that will begin at 7 p.m., May 4, in the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center.

Slippery Rock – Acting President Charles Curry will address graduate during separate morning and afternoon programs to be held May 12 in Morrow Field House. Students in the Colleges of Health, Environment and Science and Humanities and Fine and Performing Arts will receive their degree at 10:30 a.m. and those in the Colleges of Business, Information and Social Sciences and Education, at 2 p.m.

West Chester – Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club and a 1993 WCU alumnus, will address undergraduates at 10 a.m., May 12, in Farrell Stadium on the South Campus.

Frances Hesselbein, president and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute in New York, will be the speaker at the ceremony for students receiving graduate degrees at 7 p.m., May 14, in Hollinger Field House on the North Campus.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 120,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. About 500,000 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.