April 27, 2016

PASSHE universities list spring 2016 commencements and speakers

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – Director of the Peace Corps Carrie Hessler-Radelet and award-winning actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph will join outstanding alumni, faculty and students among the scheduled speakers who will address graduates of the 14 universities that comprise Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.
Spring commencement ceremonies will be held May 6-9 on the various State System campuses. Details of each of the programs follow:
Bloomsburg – Three undergraduate ceremonies will be held May 7, beginning with the program for the colleges of Business and Education at 8:30 a.m. The College of Science and Technology program will be held at 12:30 p.m., and the College of Liberal Arts ceremony, at 4 p.m. All three ceremonies are scheduled to be held on the Academic Quad. In case of rain, the events will be held in Nelson Field House.
Speakers at the respective ceremonies will be Susan McDowell, visionary partner and founding donor of Bloomsburg University’s McDowell Institute for Teacher Excellence in Positive Behavior Support; Maria Cannon, vice president of channel marketing for TE Connectivity; and Marie Conley, a 1994 alumna, a former Bloomsburg University trustee and vice chair of the State System’s Board of Governors.
The commencement program for students receiving graduate degrees will be held at 7 p.m., May 6, in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.
California – Vanessa DeSalvo Getz (’93), founder and president of Salvo Strategies, a public and government affairs firm based in Pittsburgh, will be the speaker at both the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies, both of which will be held in the Convocation Center.
Graduate ceremonies will be held at 7 p.m., May 6; the undergraduate program, at 10 a.m., May 7.
Cheyney – Award-winning actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph will speak at commencement ceremonies scheduled for 11 a.m., May 7, on the historic quadrangle. Ralph is best known for her role as Deidra "Dee" Mitchell on the UPN sitcom Moesha. She also originated the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls.
Clarion – Stephen C. Tweed, chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care, will address graduates May 7 at ceremonies to be held in Waldo Tippin Gymnasium. Tweed earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and drama from Lock Haven University and a master’s degree in communication from Clarion.
Students from the College of Arts, Education and Sciences will receive their degrees in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., while those in the College of Business Administration and Information Sciences and from Venango College Clarion-based programs, will receive their degrees at 2 p.m.
East Stroudsburg – Carrie Hessler-Radelet, director of the Peace Corps, will address undergraduates at 8:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., May 7. Graduates in the colleges of Arts & Sciences and Education and University College will receive their degrees during the morning ceremony and those in the colleges of Business and Management and Health Sciences will receive their degrees during the afternoon program. Hessler-Radelet began her career in international development as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa in 1981.
Dr. Ahmad Chaudhry, a graduate of East Stroudsburg University and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, will speak at the graduate commencement ceremony at 7 p.m., May 6.
Three student speakers also will participate in the commencement programs: Katherine Reardon, a graduating English major and theater minor from Rockaway, N.J.; Chantal Fulgencio, a graduating political science major, with French and Spanish minors, from Stroudsburg; and Lacy Jones, a graduate student studying speech language pathology.
All three programs will be held in Koheler Fieldhouse.
Edinboro – Daniel Meyer, music director of the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra and the Asheville (N.C.) Symphony, will address undergraduates at 10 a.m., May 7, in McComb Fieldhouse. Meyer also will receive an honorary degree.
The graduate commencement ceremony will be held at 2 p.m., May 7, in Louis C. Cole Auditorium in Memorial Hall.
Indiana – John Wentzel, secretary of the state Department of Corrections, will speak during morning and afternoon commencement ceremonies to be held May 7 at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. Wentzel also will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.
Graduates in the colleges of Fine Arts, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Health and Human Services will receive their degrees during the morning ceremony, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Dana Marie Peles, a music education major from Hastings, also will address her classmates.
Graduates in the Eberly College of Business and Information Technology and the colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences and Education and Educational Technology will be presented with their degrees in the afternoon, with the ceremony scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Leigh Casey Campetti, a student in the applied archaeology master’s program from Pittsburgh, also will speak during the program.
Kutztown – In keeping with tradition, outstanding faculty and students will serve as commencement speakers at both morning and afternoon ceremonies to be held May 7 in O’Pake Fieldhouse.
Students from the colleges of Business and Education will receive their degrees at ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Dr. Amy Lynn Siegfried Kennedy will be the faculty speaker. Matthew R. Rozzi will be the graduate student speaker and Matthew J. Kuna, the undergraduate speaker.
Graduates from the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Visual and Performing Arts will participate in the 2 p.m. program. Speakers will be faculty member Dr. Frank Kumor, graduate student William Joseph Anthony and undergraduate student Viviana Vidal.
Lock Haven – U.S. Rep. Glenn T. Thompson will speak during the undergraduate commencement ceremony scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., May 7, in Hubert Jack Stadium. Thompson, a four-term congressman, is a member of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Education & the Workforce committees.
Thomas “Doc” Sweitzer, a former university trustee and foundation board member, will speak during the graduate program at 7 p.m., May 6, in Price Performance Center. Sweitzer also previously served on the State System’s Board of Governors.
Mansfield – Sheri Beam (’71), an award-winning communication expert and educator, will speak at commencement ceremonies scheduled for 10 a.m., May 7, at Karl Van Norman Field. Beam has spent much of her career teaching, and also worked for nearly two decades at NASA, during which time she created a series of award-winning technology videos titled “Hallmarks of Success.”
Millersville – Guido M. Pichini, chairman of the State System’s Board of Governors, will speak during the undergraduate ceremony scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., May 7, in Biemesderfer Stadium. Mr. Pichini, president of WSK & Associates and its related companies of Wyomissing and the first State System university alum to chair the Board of Governors, also will receive an honorary degree.
Dr. Ana Borger-Greco, associate professor of Spanish, will speak at the graduate ceremony at 6:30 p.m., May 6, in Pucillo Gymnasium
Shippensburg – Sean Glennon, president of Operations Americas for Volvo Construction Equipment headquartered in Shippensburg, will speak at the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 11 a.m., May 7, in Seth Grove Stadium.
Cori A. Seilhamer, a 2011 master’s graduate and program specialist for Franklin/Fulton County Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention, will speak at the graduate ceremony at 7 p.m., May 6, in the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center.

Slippery Rock – This year’s recipients of the President’s Awards for teaching and scholarly and creative achievement speak during a pair of ceremonies for undergraduates who will receive their degrees May 7. University President Cheryl Norton will address master’s and doctoral candidates during the graduate commencement ceremony to be held at 7 p.m., May 6. All ceremonies will be held in Morrow Field House.
Jennifer Willford, assistant professor of psychology and recipient of the 2015-16 President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, will address graduates in the colleges of Health, Environment and Science, and Liberal Arts at 10 a.m.
Susan Hadley, professor of music and winner of the 2015-16 President's Award for Scholarly and Creative Achievement, will address graduates in the colleges of Business and Education, at 2 p.m.
West Chester – A trio of West Chester University alumni will address this year’s graduates during commencement ceremonies scheduled for May 7-9.
Kathy Ochse (’89), senior director for client services at StudioPost Operations, a Universal Studios post-production facility in Universal City, California., will address undergraduates from the colleges of Arts and Science and Visual and Performing Arts, at 10 a.m., May 7, in Farrell Stadium.
Katherine Dougherty Stahl (’76), a clinical associate professor of reading and director of New York University’s Literacy Clinic, will speak to graduates of the colleges of Business and Public Affairs, Education and Health Sciences at 10 a.m., May 8, also in Farrell Stadium.
Joanne Finegan ('90), chief executive officer of US Community Behavioral, Embassy Management, LLC, and president of ReMed, an organization providing treatment and supported living for individuals who have experienced a traumatic brain injury, will address students receiving graduate degrees at 7 p.m., May 9, in Hollinger Field House. Karl J. Kuerner, a renowned Chester County painter in the tradition of American realism and the heritage of the Brandywine, will receive an honorary degree.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System 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 universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.