Spring Commencement Reception
Each
year, the Graduate School and the Graduate School Alumni Society host a
Spring Commencement Reception to congratulate our graduating students and
to give them an opportunity to share their memories and future plans with
family, friends, and faculty.
More than 300 guests have attended annually and several colleges have promoted the event including the College of Arts and Architecture, College of Agricultural Sciences, the Smeal College of Business, the College of Communications, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Health and Human Development, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, the College of the Liberal Arts, and the College of Science.
Since its inception, the following guest speakers have given congratulatory remarks as part of the program, in addition to welcoming remarks given by Eva J. Pell, senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School:
Spring
2007 and Spring 2005 – Regina Vasilatos-Younken, senior associate dean
of the Graduate School - Spring 2004 - Thomas M. Hollenbeck, founder and owner of Towamencin Dentistry and an at-large member of the Graduate School Alumni Society Board of Directors. Dr. Hollenbeck earned his B.S. in 1972 and his M.S. in 1975 in ceramic science from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
- Spring 2002 - Martha J. Starling, president of the Graduate School Alumni Society (2001-2003) and community volunteer. Dr. Starling earned her master's and doctoral degrees in clothing and textiles from Penn State.
- Spring 2001 - Gary E. Miller, associate vice president for Distance Education and executive director of the World Campus at Penn State. Dr. Miller holds a doctor of education in higher education from Penn State.
- Spring 2000 - Judi Wangalwa Wakhungu, director of the Women in the Sciences and Engineering Institute at Penn State. Dr. Wakhungu earned her Ph.D. in energy resources management from Penn State. Edgar P. Yoder, professor of agricultural & extension education in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State. Dr. Yoder was one of the recipients of the 2000 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award.
- Spring 1999 - Anne Riley, past-president of the Penn State Alumni Association. Ms. Riley earned a B.A. in arts and letters and M.A. in English from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts.