Penn State To Hold Commencement Ceremonies Dec. 15

November 20, 2001
University Park, Pa. — Penn State’s University Park campus will hold its fall 2001 commencement ceremonies for approximately 3,304 associate, baccalaureate and graduate degree students on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Undergraduate baccalaureate and associate degrees will be awarded at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. Graduate degrees will be awarded at 3:30 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium.

As of mid-November, 3,304 students are scheduled to receive degrees at the University Park ceremonies. That figure includes 22 associate, 2,619 baccalaureate, 471 master’s, and 192 doctoral degree students. Systemwide, Penn State will graduate a total of 4,703 students — approximately 383 with associate degrees, 3,392 baccalaureate degrees, 924 graduate degrees, and 4 juris doctorate degrees.

Penn State President Graham Spanier will confer degrees at the undergraduate baccalaureate and associate degree ceremonies and the Graduate School program. Rodney Erickson, executive vice president and provost, will preside at the baccalaureate and associate degree ceremonies, and Eva Pell, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, will preside at the Graduate School ceremony.

Distinguished scientist Leroy Hood, the speaker at the 10 a.m. undergraduate degree ceremony, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree. Recognized as an innovative and pioneering researcher, he is the founding president and director of the Institute for Systems Biology, where systems approaches to biology and medicine are pioneered. Hood’s innovative research has resulted in laying the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology, and his innovative development of instrumentation has revolutionized genomics, enabling the rapid automated sequencing of DNA.

Renowned historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., the speaker at the 1 p.m. undergraduate degree ceremony, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Also an educator, prolific writer and public servant, he is an American icon of reasoned democracy, social justice and intellectual freedom. The author of numerous books, Schlesinger is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes for “The Age of Jackson” and “A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House.” Additional awards include two National Book Awards, the Francis Parkman Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize, the Gold Medal for History from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fregene Prize for Literature, and the Bruce Catton Prize for History.

The following colleges will hold undergraduate associate and baccalaureate degree ceremonies at 10 a.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center:

·      College of Agricultural Sciences

·      The Smeal College of Business Administration

·      College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

·      College of Engineering

The following colleges will hold undergraduate associate and baccalaureate degree ceremonies at 1 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center:

·      College of Arts and Architecture

·      College of Communications

·      College of Education

·      College of Health and Human Development

·      College of the Liberal Arts

·      Eberly College of Science

Raymond T. Coward, dean of the College of Health and Human Development, will be the speaker at the Graduate School ceremony at 3:30 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium. A specialist in gerontology, rural health and community services, Coward has authored and co-authored seven books and written more than 100 book chapters and journal articles. He has consulted for, and received funding from agencies such as the National Institute on Aging, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the United States Administration on Aging. Coward has been awarded the Professional Leadership Award from the National Council on Aging and the Distinguished Researcher Award from the National Rural Health Association. Prior to coming to Penn State in July 2000, he was the dean of the School of Health and Human Services at the University of New Hampshire.

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Contact:  Allison Kessler, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or akessler@psu.edu.