Penn State Greater Allegheny will host its fall commencement at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, in Wunderley Gymnasium. Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter will preside as diplomas are conferred to individuals receiving baccalaureate and associate degrees. Keynote speaker will be Margaret L. Signorella.
Signorella is professor of psychology and women's studies and interim director of academic affairs at Penn State Greater Allegheny. She previously served as director of academic affairs for seven years and has coordinated the campus psychology program since 2003. Trained as a social psychologist, her major research focus is on the development and consequences of gender schemas, and she is collaborating on two grants aimed at understanding gender differences in cognition and career interests.
Signorella frequently uses meta-analysis to examine the developmental and gender-related trends in stereotypical schemas. In her teaching, which includes introductory psychology, research methods, and various social psychology courses, she emphasizes involving undergraduate students in research projects. She was recently named a fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Psychology of Women Division. She serves as an associate editor for the multidisciplinary and international journal, Sex Roles, and recently co-edited a special issue of the journal on single-sex education.