DUBOIS – The Penn State DuBois Spring 2008 Commencement Ceremonies were held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in the campus gymnasium. According to the campus registrar, more than 100 people have earned degrees at Penn State DuBois this academic year.
Chancellor Anita McDonald presided over the ceremony, and Mr. Joseph Hummer served as campus Marshall.
This year’s guest speaker was Marilynn N. Butler, Ph.D. A graduate of Penn State DuBois, Butler is the Dean of the School of Professional Studies and Associate Professor of Business at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Founded by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland in 1871, Ursuline was the first women’s college to be chartered in Ohio and one of the first in the United States.
Prior to her appointment as dean in 2002, Dr. Butler was the founding director and chair of the Master of Science in Human Resources Development program at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. Prior to her appointment with Fisher in 1997, she served as a human resources consultant for The Chauncey Group International, subsidiary of the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. During her graduate studies at University Park she was an instructor of Speech Communication for The Pennsylvania State University.
As a Penn State DuBois Alumna, Butler’s speech centered on the campus and it’s people, explaining that her own success is rooted here.
“The strength and support of the Penn State DuBois community is a force that pushes its graduates forward into a trajectory of boundless opportunities,” she said. “It took a campus to launch me, it takes a campus to carry on.”
In conclusion, Butler advised students on planning their path to success and stressed the importance of being a constant learner, saying, “Do what you know, what you don’t know, learn.”
Chancellor McDonald conferred degrees. Masters, Baccalaureate and Associate degrees were presented. Interim Directors of Academic Affairs, Mary Mino and Maureen Horan presented Academic Awards. Graduate, Mathew Urmson of Pittsburgh offered the Academic Awardees Address for Associate Degrees, and Jody Lucas Kulakowski offered the address for Baccalaureate Degrees.