MCKEESPORT, Pa. — Penn State Greater Allegheny’s fall 2016 commencement ceremony was held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, in the Ostermayer Room in the Student Community Center on campus. Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Andrew Egan presided. Jay Breckenridge, professor emeritus of theatre arts, was the commencement speaker.
Breckenridge retired from Penn State in 2014 with 43 years of service to the University. He served as department coordinator for the arts at Penn State Greater Allegheny, as well as coordinator for the four-year Letters, Arts, and Sciences program. He is a founding member of The Heritage Players, a community theater group that performs at the Seton Center in Brookline, Pennsylvania, where he has directed, performed and assumed the role of set designer. He currently serves on the group's board as the technical director.
Breckenridge appears in numerous community theater productions in the tri-state area and is a familiar face at various festivals and special community celebrations. He also directed students in original theater productions on the Greater Allegheny campus every semester. These plays helped to foster students' understanding of other countries and cultures as part of the campus’s Teaching International program.
