Graduates highlight the statewide impact of public higher education

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) will award degrees to thousands of students as its 10 universities hold spring commencement ceremonies May 8–10 and May 15–16 on campuses across the commonwealth.

For students and their families, commencement marks the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance. It also underscores the role of Pennsylvania's system of public universities in expanding access to affordable education and preparing graduates to contribute to their communities and the workforce.

Commencement speakers at PASSHE universities include distinguished alumni, industry leaders and high-achieving graduating students selected for their academic excellence, leadership and service. Together, they represent careers in business, health care, education, law, public service and the arts, offering graduates perspectives shaped by real-world experience and a shared connection to Pennsylvania’s public universities.

“This is a proud moment for our universities, our graduates and the communities they call home,” said Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino. “Each commencement represents lives changed through education and the continued impact of PASSHE universities. Our graduates carry forward a legacy that helps drive the commonwealth forward.”

A schedule of spring commencement ceremonies by university follows.

Cheyney University

Ceremony: 10 a.m. May 9

Speaker: Lamar "Soup" Campbell, director of personnel development and area scout for the Seattle Seahawks

Commonwealth University

Graduate Commencement
Ceremony:

• 6 p.m. May 15 (Bloomsburg campus)
• 6 p.m. May 15 (Lock Haven campus)
• 1 p.m. May 16 (Mansfield campus)

Undergraduate Commencements

Bloomsburg Campus College of Health, Science & Technology
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 16
Speaker: Hon. David Gass, university alum, chief judge, Arizona Court of Appeals

College of Arts, Humanities, Education & Social Sciences
Ceremony: 1 p.m. May 16
Speaker: Hon. David Gass, chief judge, Arizona Court of Appeals

Zeigler College of Business
Ceremony: 5 p.m. May 16
Speaker: Hon. David Gass, chief judge, Arizona Court of Appeals

Lock Haven campus
College of Health, Science & Technology and Zeigler College of Business
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 16
Speaker: Nick Subich, university alum, president and CEO of YTS Wealth Management and member of the Lock Haven University Foundation Board of Directors

College of Arts, Humanities, Education & Social Sciences
Ceremony: 12 p.m. May 16
Speaker: Nick Subich, university alum, president and CEO of YTS Wealth Management and member of the Lock Haven University Foundation Board of Directors

Mansfield Campus
College of Health, Science & Technology, Zeigler College of Business, and Associate Degrees
Ceremony: 1 p.m. May 16
Speaker: Kenyatta Johnson, university alum, president of Philadelphia City Council

College of Arts, Humanities, Education & Social Sciences
Ceremony: 4 p.m. May 16

East Stroudsburg University

Graduate Commencement
Ceremony: 7 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Christopher Hunt, Ed.D., university alum, vice president and dean for inclusive excellence at Moravian University

College of Health Sciences and College of Business and Management
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Zachary J. McDowell, M.D., university alum, Assistant Professor of Urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he specializes in robotic surgery for urologic cancers and recipient of the 2024 ESU Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Health Science

College of Arts & Sciences and College of Education
Ceremony: 2 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Zachary J. McDowell, M.D., university alum, Assistant Professor of Urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he specializes in robotic surgery for urologic cancers and recipient of the 2024 ESU Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Health Science

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

College of Education and Human Services and Eberly College of Business
Ceremony: 8:30 a.m. May 9
Speakers:

• Graduate student: John Ograh, doctoral graduate in administration and leadership studies
• Undergraduate student: Allison Johnson, finance and economics graduate

College of Health Sciences and University College
Ceremony: 1 p.m. May 9
Speakers:

• Graduate student: Abigail Hancox, dual master’s graduate in public affairs and student affairs in higher education and a member of the PASSHE Board of Governors
• Undergraduate student: Taylor Leonetti, nursing graduate

College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs and the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Ceremony: 5 p.m. May 9
Speakers:

• Graduate student: Jaylee Lassinger, Master of Education student in mathematics education
• Undergraduate student: Fox Empson, communications and media studies student

Kutztown University

Graduate Commencement
Ceremony: 5 p.m. May 15
Speaker: Solomon Johnson, graduate student in Higher Education and Student Affairs

College of Education and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 16
Speaker: Ava Esterly, senior in Environmental Science

College of Business and College of Visual and Performing Arts
Ceremony: 2 p.m. May 16
Speaker: Zhixi Zhang, senior in Personal Financial Planning, Supply Chain Management, and Finance

Millersville University

College of Education and Human Services
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Dexter L. Davis Sr., university alum, retired superintendent of the Chester Upland School District

College of Science and Technology
Ceremony: 1 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Dr. Mitchell Crawford, university alum, medical director of addiction services for WellSpan Health and medical director of the Specialized Treatment and Recovery Team at WellSpan

Lombardo College of Business and College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Ceremony: 5 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Jason Wicht, university alum, executive vice president for growth, strategy and operations at Comcast

PennWest University

Ceremony times are the same at the California, Clarion and Edinboro campuses

College of Health Sciences & Human Services
Ceremony: 10:00 a.m. May 9
Speakers:

• California: Jordan Wiedman, graduate student in Criminal Justice
• Clarion: Karsten Kadylak, student in Nursing
• Edinboro: Chelsea Weimer, graduate student in Speech Language Pathology

College of Education, Arts & Humanities and College of Science, Technology & Business
Ceremony: 2:30 p.m. May 9
Speakers:

• California: Caitlyn Egan, senior in Criminal Justice
• Clarion: Caleigh Aigler, senior in Economics
• Edinboro: Kendal Mumaw, senior in Secondary Education: Social Studies and Special Education

Shippensburg University

Graduate Commencement
Ceremony: 7 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Michela L. Kluk, Shippensburg alumna, attorney with MidPenn Legal Services

Undergraduate Commencement
Ceremony: 11 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Mike Doner, Bachelor of Arts graduate, CEO of Flagger Force

Slippery Rock University

Graduate Commencement
Ceremony: 6 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Tim Post, university alum, corporate partnerships manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Undergraduate Commencement

College of Education; College of Liberal Arts; and Rock Life
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Monica Lamar, university alum, assistant superintendent, Pittsburgh Public Schools

Haverlack College of Business
Ceremony: 12 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Todd Vore, university alum, entrepreneur in the consumer products industry and former CEO for Giftcraft

College of Engineering and Science and College of Health Professions
Ceremony: 3 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Stacey Vaccaro, university alum, president and CEO of Familylinks

West Chester University

College of Arts & Humanities

Undergraduate: Art, English, Graphic & Interactive Design, History, Languages & Cultures, Linguistics, Philosophy, Studio Arts, Theater, Urban Community Change and Women & Gender Studies
Ceremony: 4:30 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Dani Troia, senior in English

Undergraduate: Media Culture & Communication Studies
Ceremony: 7 pm. May 9
Speaker: Rachel Liney, senior in Media and Culture

College of Business & Public ManagementUndergraduates Only: Accounting, Geography and Urban and Environmental Planning
Ceremony: 2 p.m. May 9
Speakers: Sydney Culhane, senior in Accounting

Undergraduate: Marketing, Finance and Economics and Business Analytics
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 10
Speaker: Gavin Reeves, senior in Marketing

Undergraduate: Management, Criminal Justice, International Business and Supply Chain Management
Ceremony: 12 p.m. May 10
Speaker: Madelynn Hildick, senior in Business Management and Marketing (double major)

College of Education & Social Work

Undergraduate: Early and Middle Grades, Secondary Education & K12 Health and Physical Education, Special Education and Social Work
Ceremony: 6 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Elizabeth Schmidt, senior in Early Education

Masters and Doctoral Commencement

College of Education and Social Work, College of the Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Humanities and the School of Music
Ceremony: 3:30 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Subarna Basu, Doctor of Education (EdD) student

College of Business and Public Management and College of Health Sciences
Ceremony: 6:30 p.m. May 9
Speaker: John Crouser, Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) student

College of Health Sciences

Undergraduate: Nursing
Ceremony: 5 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Madelyn Oehme, senior in Nursing

Undergraduate Exercise Science, Nutrition and Sports Medicine Studies
Ceremony: 9 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Amaya Lewis, senior in Nutrition

Undergraduate Communication Science & Disorders, Health Science, Public Health and Environmental Health
Ceremony: 11:30 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Anna DeSino, senior in Communication Sciences and Disorders

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and Political Science
Ceremony: 9:30 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Adriana Grecco, senior in Psychology

Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemistry-Biology, Computer Science, Forensic and Toxicological Chemistry, Geoscience, Mathematics, Pharm. Prd Dev., Physics and Physics Engineering, and School of Music
Ceremony: 12:30 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Gianna Parrish, senior in Cell and Molecular Biology

University College
Ceremony: 7 p.m. May 8
Speaker: Augustina Onubogu, senior in Interdisciplinary Studies

Philadelphia Location
Undergraduate Ceremony: 9:30 a.m. May 9
Speaker: Queen Hadi, a senior in Social Work

Graduate Ceremony: 12 p.m. May 9
Speaker: Rufus Farmer, Master of Social Work student

 

About PASSHE
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is the public university system of the commonwealth with a mission to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students. The State System annually confers more than 20,000 degrees and has more than 800,000 living alumni, most of whom live in Pennsylvania. The State System universities are Cheyney, Commonwealth (Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield), East Stroudsburg, Indiana, Kutztown, Millersville, PennWest (California, Clarion and Edinboro), Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities of Pennsylvania.