Fall commencement was celebrated at Penn State McKeesport on Thursday, December 21 in Wunderely Gymnasium. Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter presided. Baccalaureate and associate degrees were conferred upon 36 students.
Robert E. Hauser, Assistant Professor of History, performed his duties for the last time as campus marshal. Dr. Hauser, who has 36.5 years of service to the University, will be retiring at the end of this semester. Also retiring and thus serving for the last time was Business Program Marshal Michael J. Dailey, Assistant Professor of Accounting. Delia Conti, Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, served as Communications and Information Sciences and Technology Program (IST) Marshals, and Margaret L. Signorella, Director of Academic Affairs and Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, served as Letters, Arts, and Sciences and Applied Psychology Program Marshals.
Several students were honored with Academic Excellence Awards. These awards are given to students achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.60 or higher who have attended Penn State McKeesport for four or more semesters and who attended the graduation ceremony. The students honored were Crystal Carroll (Applied Psychology), Christine Gibson (Applied Psychology), Kristine Kochis (Business Administration), Lauri Kozarian (Applied Psychology), James Mikesell (IST), and Matthew Perrotti (IST). Award winners receive a replica of the Nittany Lion shrine.
The keynote speaker was Mary Del Brady, an entrepreneur whose 30 years of professional experience include the founding and ownership of several companies in the services and biotechnology industries. Brady, president and CEO of Redpath Integrated Pathology, spoke to the students about her journey from humanities major to biotechnology, and the importance of both planning and openness to change. Much of her speech is included in the video highlights linked below.
View video highlights from commencement (*.wmv format).