Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will award over 600 degrees at its spring commencement on Friday, May 8. The ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Erie Insurance Arena, 809 French St. It is open to the public and no tickets are needed to attend.
Penn State Behrend will confer 603 degrees -- 42 associate, 508 baccalaureate and 53 graduate -- that evening in addition to the 158 degrees that were awarded at the December fall commencement held on campus. University-wide, more than 13,000 Penn Staters will earn degrees during the month of May.
In keeping with a long-standing Penn State Behrend tradition, the commencement address will be given by a faculty member. Jonathan C. Hall, a senior lecturer in physics, will address the candidates and guests with remarks titled “Breaking Good.” Also speaking will be Chancellor Donald L. Birx, Penn State Trustee Emeritus Robert D. Metzgar, Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows Chair Kurt F. Buseck and graduating seniors Michael Knoll and Amyelia Payne. Knoll, a biology major from Erie, will give welcome remarks on behalf of the Class of 2015, while Payne, a New Castle resident majoring in interdisciplinary business with engineering studies, will give the farewell.
The candidates for graduation will be led onto the arena floor by five student marshals: Gregory G. Adams of Clifford Township, a secondary education in mathematics major, for the School of Science; Katie M. Burbules of Erie, an Evan Pugh scholar and mechanical engineering major, for the School of Engineering; Anissa M. Eliason of Waterford, an accounting major, for the Black School of Business; Katherine A. O’Neill of Lake Winola, a Schreyer Scholar and creative writing major, for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; and Danielle E. Ropp of Folsom, Calif., a Schreyer Scholar and history major, for the Schreyer Scholars Program.
Chikodili Agwuna of Columbia, Maryland, will lead the singing of the Alma Mater. She is a Schreyer Scholar and candidate for an Honors degree in creative writing.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a student-focused comprehensive residential college within Penn State that offers more than 40 undergraduate and four graduate degree programs to its 4,350 students. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.