Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter, Ph.D. conferred degrees on fifty-six students at Penn State McKeesport's spring commencement on May 13. Diplomas were awarded in a number of areas, including business, communications, applied psychology, information sciences and technology (IST).
Penn State alumnus Ronald R. Davenport, chairman of Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. and co-chairman of the American Urban Radio Networks, was the keynote speaker.
Davenport has served on numerous civic and corporate boards, including ARAMARK, the Mayor's Committee on Human Resources, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Opportunities Industrialization Center. Some of his community service activities include the Heinz Awards, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Committee for Economic Development and the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. Davenport recently was honored at the "Celebration of Giants" in broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation in New York City.
Penn State honored Davenport as an Alumni Fellow in 1974 (his wife, Judith, was honored in 2001) and as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1975 (and Judith in 1995). The Davenports have endowed faculty chairs in the Eberly College of Science and The Smeal College of Business Administration. They also endowed two undergraduate scholarships for minority students who have an interest in the sciences and in business.