University Park

Reminder: Penn State to hold commencement ceremonies May 18-20

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's University Park campus will hold its spring 2007 commencement ceremonies for approximately 7,604 associate, baccalaureate and graduate degree students May 18-20.

That figure includes eight associate, 6,767 baccalaureate, 593 master's and 236 doctoral degree students. Systemwide, Penn State will graduate a total of 10,634 students -- approximately 542 with associate degrees, 8,465 with baccalaureate degrees,1,335 with graduate degrees, 126 with medical degrees and 166 with juris doctorate degrees.

This year, Penn State's honorary degree recipients are Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) and Luo Shiming, former president of the South China Agricultural University.

Fauci will receive an honorary doctorate and will speak at the Eberly College of Science commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 19, in the Bryce Jordan Center.

As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD), Fauci oversees an extensive research portfolio on basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illnesses from potential agents of bioterrorism. Fauci serves as one of the key advisers to the White House and Department of Health and Human Services on global AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging disease threats such as pandemic influenza. Fauci is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine (council member), the American Philosophical Society and the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters.

Luo will receive an honorary doctorate and will speak at the College of Agricultural Sciences commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 19, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

As the former president of the South China Agricultural University, Luo has advocated and implemented educational reforms in China. He spent 10 years working in China's rural areas during the 1970s, but went on to study agro-ecology in the United States. He now leads his country's ecology efforts as vice president of China's Ecology Society, vice president of China's Agronomy Society, vice president of the Scientists' Association of Guangdong Province, a member of the Standing Committee of China's Association of Rural Environment and Ecology and as director of the Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Ecology. Luo graduated from the Agronomy Department of the South China College in 1968 and earned a master of science degree at the same college in 1982. He was appointed vice president of the South China Agricultural University in 1992 and became president in 1995.

The commencement ceremony schedule follows:

Friday, May 18

-- 3 p.m.: ROTC commissioning in Schwab Auditorium. Brigadier General James A. Whitmore, director of Operations and Support Integration, Warfighting Integration and chief information officer for the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, will speak.

-- 5 p.m.: Schreyer Honors College medals ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium.

-- 8 p.m.: The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences commencement ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium. Robert Tony Watson, chief scientist and senior adviser for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development for the World Bank, will speak.

-- 8 p.m.: The College of Engineering commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Janet B. Cunningham, president of JBC Associates Inc., will speak.

Saturday, May 19

-- 9 a.m.: The College of Agricultural Sciences commencement ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium. Luo Shiming, former president and professor of the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, China, will speak.

-- 9 a.m.: Eberly College of Science commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, will speak.

-- Noon: The College of Arts and Architecture commencement ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium. Chip Kidd, graphic designer and editor-at-large for Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Publishing, will speak.

-- Noon: The College of Communications commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Tom Curley, president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press, will speak.

-- 3 p.m.: The College of Information Sciences and Technology commencement ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium. John Meyer, president of Lucent Worldwide Services (LWS), will speak.

-- 3 p.m.: The College of Health and Human Development commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Jerry Sandusky, founder of The Second Mile, will speak.

-- 6 p.m.: The College of Education commencement ceremony in Eisenhower Auditorium. Gerald L. Zahorchak, state secretary of education, will speak.

-- 6 p.m.: The College of the Liberal Arts commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Linda Woodbridge, Weiss chair in the humanities and professor of English at Penn State, will speak.

Sunday, May 20

-- 1:30 p.m.: The Smeal College of Business commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Martha B. Jordan, partner in the international law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP and chair of the Smeal Board of Visitors, will speak.

-- 5 p.m.: The Graduate School commencement ceremony in the Bryce Jordan Center. Nicholas Winograd, Evan Pugh professor of chemistry at Penn State, will speak.

Parents and families of graduating students may access travel and lodging information at http://commencement.psu.edu/travel.html online.

For more information about this year's ceremonies and future ceremonies, visit http://commencement.psu.edu online.

Penn State students across the Commonwealth will celebrate commencement May 18-20. Credit: Annemarie Mountz / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 18, 2010

Contact