Tracy Langkilde, Michael Verderame to speak at Fox Graduate School commencement

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School has announced that Michael Verderame, senior associate dean of the Fox Graduate School, will serve as the keynote speaker for the spring 2026 master’s commencement ceremony, and Tracy Langkilde, Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, will deliver the keynote speech at the doctoral commencement ceremony.

The ceremonies will take place on Sunday, May 10, at 5 p.m. Master’s graduates will be recognized in the Bryce Jordan Center, and doctoral candidates will be acknowledged at Pegula Ice Arena. Both the master’s ceremony and the doctoral ceremony also will be livestreamed on the Penn State YouTube channel for graduates’ friends and family members who are unable to attend in person.

Michael Verderame

Verderame has been senior associate dean of the Fox Graduate School since 2015. In this position, he plays a key role overseeing graduate academic policy development and implementation, spearheading strategic initiatives to strengthen Penn State graduate programs, and supporting the Graduate Council in its review of new and revised academic programs and courses. Verderame also represents the Fox Graduate School on several committees and initiatives across the University aimed at providing the best educational experiences and outcomes for Penn State graduate students.

Verderame began his career at the University in 1989, initially serving as an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the College of Medicine. After rising to full professor, he took on a dual title of associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Medicine, where he helped revamp the core curriculum for doctoral students, assisted in creating an integrated biomedical sciences doctoral program and developed alongside then graduate students the College of Medicine’s Graduate Student Oath, which is still recited at orientation and commencement ceremonies to this day.

Verderame has provided national leadership in graduate education as the chair of the Graduate Research, Education and Training professional development group of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Most recently, he’s reviewed previous literature and submitted new findings on establishing more well-defined criteria students must fulfill to complete a doctoral degree.

Tracy Langkilde

Langkilde is the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science. Her research in herpetology — the study of amphibians and reptiles — intersects interdisciplinary boundaries, seated in the crossover of ecology and evolution. She explores how animals adapt behavior and physiology in response to changing environments, and is internationally recognized and respected in the field.

Langkilde received a bachelor’s degree in tropical biology from James Cook University and earned a doctoral degree in biology from the University of Sydney. She went on to complete postdoctoral training at Yale University as a Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Fellow.

Langkilde accepted her first position at Penn State in 2007 as an assistant professor of biology. Advancing through the academic ranks, she became an associate professor in 2012, full professor and head of the Department of Biology in 2016 and eventually began in her current role as the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science in 2020. She briefly was appointed as the interim executive vice president and provost of Penn State in 2024.

She’s known in the Eberly College of Science for cultivating a scientific community of resilience, creativity and collaboration.

Learn more about the master’s and doctoral commencement ceremonies on the Fox Graduate School website.