Commencement 2012 takes place on Saturday, May 12, in ceremonies at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
The 9:00 a.m. ceremony is for undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Fine Arts, College of Health and Human Services, and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
The 1:30 p.m. ceremony is for undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Education and Educational Technology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Eberly College of Business and Information Technology.
More than 2,250 graduates are eligible to participate, since students who will complete their degree requirements in August are also invited to participate. The degrees to be granted are 1,899 bachelor's, 260 master's, 71 doctoral, and 20 associate degrees.
Clyde Mills McGeary '54, artist and innovator of arts in education, will give the keynote address at both ceremonies and receive an honorary doctorate.
McGeary served as chief of the Division of Arts and Sciences in the Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction in the Pennsylvania Department of Education from 1975 to 1991. He created the Governor's School for the Arts and the complex of Governor's Schools of Excellence, including the schools of science, health care, business, agriculture, teaching, and international studies.
His early work with the Educational Television Network resulted in hundreds of classroom programs on architecture, environment, music, and art for schools across the United States.
Two students will deliver speeches: Christopher Anthony at the morning ceremony and Stephanie Stahl at the afternoon ceremony.
Anthony, a theater major with a minor in fine arts entrepreneurship, is a student in the Robert E. Cook Honors College. He has played many major roles in ÑÇÉ«Ó°¿â theater productions, including Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 and John Proctor in The Crucible. He is a two-time regional finalist for the Irene Ryan Scholarship Competition of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He is a member of Alpha Psi Omega dramatic honor society and Delta Epsilon Iota academic honor society.
Stahl completed her master's degree in school counseling while also becoming certified as an elementary and secondary school counselor. She is the 2012 recipient of the Janet Fontaine Outstanding Student Counseling Student award and an active member of the Iota Upsilon Pi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, the international counseling honor society. She has given presentations at the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association conference and has two publications in refereed journals.
President David Werner will preside and will join Gerald Intemann, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Timothy Mack, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research; and members of the Council of Trustees in conferring degrees.
Recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Faculty Awards will be recognized.
Members of the Class of 1962 will lead the procession into Ed Fry Arena. Sandra Barsotti '87, secretary of the ÑÇÉ«Ó°¿â Alumni Association, will offer greetings on behalf of the Alumni Association.
All students participating in Commencement will be recognized by name and congratulated on stage by Werner and members of the platform party.
Forty-seven bachelor's degree recipients who achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA will be recognized:
• Lauren E. Alshouse
• Jordan Lee Alsop
• Beth Lindsey Anderson
• Tara Lynn Baker
• Molly Frances Clark
• Louis Oliver Colaianni
• Danielle Marie Cook
• Nicole E. Cornman
• Kerrianne Costantino
• Lindsey Nicole DePra
• Angelica M. Dunsavage
• Holly S. Edwards
• Maximillian Charles Esmus
• Rachel Lynn Eyth
• Susan Arlene Farabaugh
• Jedidiah Thomas Fetterman
• Truman J. Gore
• Laura Eden Gressick
• Allyson Marie Hegarty
• Kelly R. Huegel
• Alexandria Courtney Hull
• Jaclyn Kay Hynson
• Jennifer Marie Johnson
• Jennifer A. Kachinko
• Seonho Kang
• Shauna Ann Kennedy
• Mary Jacquelyn Mantini
• Kelly Patricia McBryan
• Donald Alan Miller
• Keshia Elyse Mock
• Alyssa Marie Muchler
• Elizabeth L. Nebiolo
• Danielle Marie Ostendorf
• Gabrielle Marie Rahn
• Diana Saltykova
• Lindsey A. Smetak
• Rachel Ann Snyder
• Danielle M. Solt
• Teresa Mae Stage
• Tammy Michele Stonecypher
• Casey Anna Sturiale
• Alison Paige Terndrup
• Crystal L. Theys
• Brianne Nichole Thomas
• Robert Michael Turick
• Iryna Yavorska
• Diana Marie Zuhlke
Parking around campus will be open to all visitors, with the following exceptions: The Clark Hall parking lot is reserved for members of the Class of 1962; portions of the Miller Stadium parking lot are reserved for handicapped parking; and the Kovalchick VIP parking area, directly in front of the building and the loading dock area, is reserved for members of the platform party.
Police officers will be at each intersection from Grant Street south to the Kovalchick Complex to assist visitors.
Individual departmental ceremonies will be held in the morning for the colleges graduating in the 1:30 p.m. ceremony and in the afternoon for the colleges graduating in the 9:00 a.m. ceremony.
Commencement may be viewed via live webcast on Saturday.