December 07, 2018
State System universities to hold fall commencements for 2018
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education universities will hold their fall
commencement ceremonies beginning Dec. 14 and continuing throughout the weekend on
the various campuses.
Outstanding students, alumni and faculty are among the scheduled speakers who will
address the new graduates, their families and other guests who will attend the programs.
Details of each of the programs follow:
Bloomsburg – A pair of faculty members will address more than 400 undergraduates who will receive
their degrees at commencement ceremonies to be held at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Dec.
15, in Mitrani Hall in the Haas Center of the Arts.
Dr. Molly Marnella, associate professor and chair of the Department of Teaching and
Learning, will speak during the morning program, where students from the Colleges
of Education and Liberal Arts will be awarded their degrees. Dr. Loren F. Selznick,
chair of the Department of Accounting and an associate professor of business law,
will speak at the afternoon ceremony to students in the Colleges of Business and Science
and Technology.
Almost 70 graduate students will receive their degrees during a separate ceremony
to be held at 6 p.m., Dec. 14, also in Mitrani Hall.
California – Timothy P. Camus, a 1984 Cal U. graduate, will speak during separate ceremonies
for undergraduate and graduate students scheduled for Dec. 14 and 15 in the university’s
Convocation Center.
Camus worked in the U.S. Treasury Department for 31 years, including 25 years as a
special agent in the inspector general’s office, where he investigated domestic terrorism
groups, death threats made against public officials, bribery, extortion and other
aspects of internal corruption and white-collar crime involving the IRS.
The program for undergraduates receiving associate and bachelor’s degrees will be
held at 10 a.m., Dec. 15. Graduate students, including the first students from the
university’s Doctor of Health Science program, will receive their degrees in a ceremony
scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., Dec. 14.
Clarion – A pair of Clarion University professors will address graduates at separate ceremonies
to be held Dec. 15 in Marwick Boyd Auditorium.
Dr. James Lyle, an assistant professor in the Department of Communications, will speak
to graduates in the College or Arts, Education and Sciences at 10 a.m.; and Dr. Frank
Shepard, a faculty member in the Finance Department, will speak to graduates in the
Colleges of Business Administration and Information Sciences and Health and Human
Services at 2 p.m. Dr. Lyle has been a faculty member at Clarion since 2001 and is
chair of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Shepard joined the faculty in 1990. He is the founder
and editor of the Clarion University Law Journal and has served as director of Clarion’s
paralegal program since 1991.
East Stroudsburg – Dr. Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education,
will be the keynote speaker during commencement ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:45
a.m., Dec. 15, in Koehler Fieldhouse. Terrence Bomar, who will be receiving his second
Master of Education degree from ESU, and Karl Bohnenberger, who will be awarded a
bachelor’s degree in physics, also will speak during the program.
Dr. Greenstein became the State System’s fifth chancellor in September. He serves
as chief executive officer of the State System, which operates Pennsylvania’s 14 public
universities, serving nearly 100,000 students. He previously led the Postsecondary
Success strategy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he worked with other
higher education leaders across the country on initiatives designed to raise educational-attainment
levels and to promote economic mobility, especially among low-income and minority
students.
Edinboro – A pair of student speakers will highlight separate commencement ceremonies for
undergraduates and graduate students being held Dec. 15 at Edinboro.
Rachel Shirey, who will receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio arts, will
address undergraduate students at a 10 a .m. ceremony to be held in McComb Field House.
Rosmari Graham, who will be awarded a Master of Arts in communication studies, will
speak during the graduate program scheduled for 2 p.m. in Louis C. Cole Auditorium.
Indiana – Dr. Jeffery L. Larkin, a professor in the Biology Department, will be the speaker
at a pair of ceremonies to be held Dec. 15. Dr. Larkin is the 2018-19 Distinguished
University Professor and Distinguished Faculty Award recipient for research.
Also speaking during the separate programs will be students Colin J. Brown, who will
be receiving a doctoral degree in safety sciences, and Maria J. Newton, who will be
graduating from the Cook Honors College with a bachelor’s degree in management.
Graduate students will receive their degrees during a 9:30 a.m. program to be held
in Fisher Auditorium. Undergraduates will be awarded their degrees during a 1 p.m.
program in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
Kutztown – A pair of graduating students and a faculty member will address nearly 500 graduates
who will receive their degrees in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., Dec. 15,
in O’Pake Field House.
The student speakers will be Colin Quinn of Flourtown, who will receive a Master of
Education in secondary education curriculum and instruction degree, and Kylin Camburn
of Coopersburg, who will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies degree,
with a minor in bioethics. Dr. Dina Hayduk, associate professor of sport management
and leadership studies, will be the faculty speaker. She has served as an educator
for more than 27 years.
Mansfield – Dr. Nancy Sidell, professor emeritus in social work, will be the keynote speaker
during Mansfield University’s 154 commencement to be held at 11 a.m., Dec. 15, in
Decker Gymnasium.
Millersville – State System Chancellor Dr. Daniel Greenstein will address graduates during commencement
ceremonies scheduled for 2 p.m., Dec. 16, in Pucillo Gymnasium.
Shippensburg – Richard Calhoun, organizational development specialist for the West Virginia Education
Association, and Barb Bowker, vice president of marketing and membership development
for the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU), will speak to graduates
receiving their degrees at Shippensburg University.
Calhoun, who received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Shippensburg,
will address graduate students at 7 p.m., Dec. 14, in the Luhr’s Center. Bowker, also
a Shippensburg alumna, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony scheduled to begin
at 11 a.m., Dec. 15, in Heiges Field House.
Slippery Rock – Recently inaugurated President Dr. William Behre will address new degree recipients
during Slippery Rock’s fall commencement program. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.,
Dec. 15, in Morrow Field House.
West Chester – Three commencement ceremonies will be held Dec. 15 and 16, all in Hollinger Fieldhouse.
Gerard Sweeney, a 1979 alumnus and president, chief executive officer and trustee
of Brandywine Realty Trust, will address graduate students receiving their degrees
at 10 a.m., Dec. 15. Susan Schick, a1988 West Chester graduate and vice president
of U.S. talent at QVC, will address undergraduates in the Colleges of Business and
Public Management, Sciences and Mathematics, and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies,
at 10 a.m., Dec. 16. Frank Branca, a 1970 alumnus and president of Branca-Rampart
Agency, a full-service life, disability, long-term care, and annuity provider for
independent agents and financial planners, will address undergraduates in the Colleges
of Arts and Humanities, Education and Social Work and Health Sciences, and the School
of Music at 2 p.m., Dec. 16.
Cheyney and Lock Haven universities do not hold commencement programs in the fall.