Campus Life

Penn State announces fall 2011 commencement events and speakers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Through the end of summer 2011, Penn State has conferred a total of 682,318 degrees. At the conclusion of the fall 2011 semester, the University's total number of graduates should approach 687,043.

This fall Penn State expects to award approximately 4,725 diplomas to students University-wide who are completing 272 associate, 3,499 baccalaureate, 720 master's, 2 medical, 13 law and 219 doctoral degrees.

At the University Park campus, an estimated 2,733 degrees will be conferred at two undergraduate events, held at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center, and the Graduate School ceremony at 4 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium, all over which Penn State President Rodney Erickson will preside.

Following is a compilation of fall 2011 commencement ceremonies and speaker information for Penn State's 24 campuses.

Penn College
11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Community Arts Center, Williamsport
Speaker: Molly G. Goldsmith, a graduating student receiving an associate degree in forest technology
Goldsmith is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa and Council of Eastern Forest Technician Schools (CEFTS) honor societies. She will receive the Forest Technology Faculty Award.
http://www.pct.edu/commencement

Penn State Abington
10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Keswick Theatre, 291 N Keswick Ave, Glenside, Pa.
Speaker: Andy Santacroce ’88, associate director of program management, Verizon Wireless Marketing; owner, Intuitive Edge Inc.
Santacroce is chair-elect of the Penn State Abington Advisory Board and has served on the Alumni Society Board from 2001-2010, holding various officer and leadership positions during this time. He continues to be actively involved with the Abington Alumni Society and Alumni Council. He also is an elected member of Horsham Township Council, where he is serving his second consecutive term.
http://www.abington.psu.edu/psasite/cs/commencement.html

Penn State Altoona
11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Adler Athletic Building
Speaker: Joseph Pizarchik '79
Pizarchik received United States Senate confirmation in November 2009 as director of the Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), having been nominated for this post by President Obama.
http://www.altoona.psu.edu/commencement/

Penn State Beaver
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Auditorium, Student Union Building
Speaker: Brooks Canavesi '02 IST
Canavesi is a 2002 graduate of Penn State Beaver and a member of the campus' first class of baccalaureate degree recipients in information sciences and technology. He is employed by OpenArc in Wexford, an open-source solutions provider for small and medium-size businesses as well as the education market. Canavesi has been involved in business development for 12 years and has established multiple for-profit and not-for-profit businesses, including On Deck Systems, Scalaren Inc. and Frontline Initiative. In addition to business development, his experience includes product development, finance, Web design, information technology, and project management.

Penn State Berks
10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Beaver Community Center
Speaker: Gregory F. Flemming '63 Eng
Flemming is a retired executive from IBM Corporation. Early in his IBM career, Flemming was integrally involved in the development and rollout of Solid State Logic Technology for the System 360, which became the first massed produced commercial computer. In 1979, Flemming was an integral part of the inception of the IBM personal computer, and in the early 1980s, he participated in forming the PC Company within IBM, which later launched the "computers for the masses" revolution throughout the world. In 1990, he served as IBM's lead negotiator to spin off the personal printer, typewriter and supplies business that formed the now successful Lexmark Corporation. At Penn State, Flemming is a member of the Penn State Berks Industrial Advisory Board and the Penn State Berks Advisory Council, and was instrumental in starting the learning factory at Penn State Berks. He is also a 2011 Penn State Alumni Fellow Recipient.

Penn State Brandywine
10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Common Building/Athletic Center Gymnasium
Speaker: Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rubin is a foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her column appears in 50 additional U.S. newspapers, and she is a member of the Inquirer's editorial board. Over the past seven years, Rubin visited Iraq 11 times and has written from Iran, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, China and South Korea. She is the author of Willful Blindness: The Bush Administration and Iraq.
http://www.bw.psu.edu/Academics/graduation.htm
http://www.bw.psu.edu/32251.htm

Penn State College of Medicine
no fall commencement

Penn State Dickinson School of Law
no fall commencement

Penn State DuBois
7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, Hiller Auditorium
Speaker: Jim Baker, vice president and commercial lender, CNB Bank
Baker is a vice president and commercial lender for CNB Bank, a $1.4 billion dollar bank headquartered in Clearfield. He is also president of the DuBois Educational Foundation, the advisory board that provides financial and administrative support to Penn State DuBois. Baker also serves as the treasurer of DuFast, the area joint transportation authority, and on the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission's Credit Committee.
http://www.dubois.psu.edu/31986.htm

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Junker Center
Speaker: M. Gregory Filbeck, professor of finance and the Samuel Patton Black III Chair in Insurance and Risk Management, Penn State Behrend
It is a Penn State Behrend tradition to have a faculty member speak to the college's graduates. Filbeck is a professor of finance and the Samuel Patton Black III Chair in Insurance and Risk Management who has two books forthcoming: Portfolio Theory and Management (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Alternative Investments (Wiley Publishing, 2013). The title of his address will be "Strategic Vision: Your Personal Policy Statement."
http://psbehrend.psu.edu/news-events/news/commencement-details-announced

Penn State Fayette
no fall commencement

Penn State Great Valley
no fall commencement

Penn State Greater Allegheny
7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, Wunderely Gymnasium
Speaker: Margaret L. Signorella, professor of psychology and women's studies and interim director of Academic Affairs (DAA), Penn State Greater Allegheny
Signorella previously served as DAA for seven years and also coordinates the campus psychology program. Trained as a social psychologist, her major research focus is on the development and consequences of gender schemas. In her teaching she emphasizes involving undergraduate students in research. Signorella was recently named a fellow of the American Psychological Association. She serves as an associate editor for Sex Roles, and recently co-edited a special issue of the journal on single-sex education.
http://ga.psu.edu/33572.htm

Penn State Harrisburg
9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Giant Center, Hershey, Pa.
Speaker: Homer C. Floyd, former executive director, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
Floyd is former executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, serving from 1970 to 2011. He held positions in local, state and federal agencies in Kansas,
Nebraska and Washington, D.C., and has amassed an extensive record of civil rights accomplishments. Floyd holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas.
http://harrisburg.psu.edu/commencement/ceremony.cfm

Penn State Hazleton
no fall commencement

Penn State Lehigh Valley
no fall commencement

Penn State Mont Alto
no fall commencement

Penn State New Kensington
10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Forum Theatre
Speaker: Barbara Arnold '82, '85, '89, founder and president, PrepTech Inc.
Arnold is the founder and president of PrepTech Inc., an engineering services and mineral processing equipment company in Apollo, Pa. Her company offers engineering services to the coal and mineral processing industries. Arnold attended the New Kensington campus for two years before earning her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at Penn State University Park. She recently was named a 2011 Alumni Fellow by the Penn State Alumni Association.
http://www.nk.psu.edu/Academics/graduation.htm

Penn State Schuylkill
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, lower level, Health and Wellness Building
Speaker: Allen Kiefer '65, president, Penn State Schuylkill Advisory Board
Kiefer is president of the Penn State Schuylkill Advisory Board. He has a long and distinguished career in banking and finance. In 2000 he formed Kiefer Investment Services, an investment advisory and money management firm specializing in wealth creation, growth and retention through asset allocation. Keifer holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Penn State.
http://www.sl.psu.edu/29307.htm

Penn State Shenango
7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Auditorium
Speaker: Rep. Mark A. Longietti
Longietti represents the 7th Legislative District, Mercer County, in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and was first elected in 2006. He graduated from West Minster College with a bachelor's degree in economics and political science and from Boston College Law School with a law degree.
 

Penn State University Park:

Schreyer Honors College Medals Ceremony
5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, President's Hall, The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel

9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Bryce Jordan Center
Undergraduate degree recipients from the College of Agricultural Sciences, Smeal College of Business, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Information Sciences and Technology
Speaker: Rodney Erickson, president, Penn State

12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Bryce Jordan Center
Undergraduate degree recipients from the College of Arts and Architecture, College of Communications, College of Education, College of Health and Human Development, College of the Liberal Arts, School of Nursing, Eberly College of Science
Speaker: Gary Orfield, co-founder and director of The Civil Rights Project; Penn State honorary degree recipient, doctor of humane letters

The Graduate School
4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Eisenhower Auditorium Graduate School;
Speaker: Barbara I. Dewey, dean, University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, Penn State
Dewey, named dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications in August 2010, oversees Penn State's collections of more than 5.4 million books, 109,000 serials, 565 databases and 125,000 e-books at all Penn State locations. Previously, she was dean of Libraries at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and also held several administrative positions at the University of Iowa Libraries and  Indiana University’s School of Library and Information Sciences. She is the author/editor of six books; her forthcoming book is "Transforming Research Libraries for the Global Knowledge Society." She received a master's degree in library science and an undergraduate degree in sociology/anthropology from the University of Minnesota, and completed the Public Management Certificate from Indiana University. Dewey also is chair of the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) Transforming Research Libraries Steering Committee and former Board of Directors member.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre
no fall commencement

Penn State Worthington-Scranton
no fall commencement

Penn State York
6 p.m. Friday, December 16, Pullo Family Performing Arts Center
Speaker: Gary C. Butler, P.E. '71
Butler is president and chief executive officer of Precision Custom Components, a manufacturer of custom fabricated pressure vessels, reactors, casks and heavy walled components requiring highly specialized machining, welding and/or fabrication. Butler holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Penn State and became a registered professional engineer in mechanical engineering in the state of Pennsylvania in 1975. He has served on the Penn State York Advisory Board since 2006 and currently serves as vice chairperson. He was recently honored by Central Penn Business Journal as Executive of the Year and last year, through his leadership and the efforts of the entire PCC team, the company was named Business of the Year for private companies with more than 100 employees.
http://www2.yk.psu.edu/commencement/schedule.html
 

For commencement details at the University Park campus, click on the image above. For other campuses, refer to links listed in the article. Credit: http://commencement.psu.eduAll Rights Reserved.

Last Updated December 5, 2012

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