Commencement plans outlined for Cal U
CALIFORNIA – California University of Pennsylvania’s 162nd Commencement will take place this Friday and Saturday in Hamer Hall’s gymnasium where university President Dr. Angelo Armenti Jr. will confer degrees upon 699 students. According to officials, two separate ceremonies – one for graduates and another for undergraduates of the Class of May 2006 – will be highlighted by remarks from two distinguished alumni.
Alumnus R. William Funk, Class of 1970, will speak at the undergraduate commencement scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
Cal U’s School of Graduate Studies and Research will hold its commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, when alumnus and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Riper, Class of 1963, will speak to graduates.
Van Riper, born in Brownsville in 1938, has a distinguished career of military service, including serving as the commanding general in the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Va., and an advisor in the Republic of Vietnam with the Vietnamese Marine Corps. While in Vietnam, he was wounded in action on Feb. 7, 1966.
Highlights in his military career include serving as commanding general with the 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C., and in Washington, D.C., as director of intelligence, assistant chief of staff and his final post of lieutenant general in July 1995.
Van Riper’s personal decorations include the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Ribbon with gold star.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Airborne and Ranger schools.
Funk, who earned his undergraduate degree from Cal U, is the leading recruiter of university and college presidents and chancellors in the nation, according to a news release.
Selected for inclusion in the Global 200 Executive Recruiters: An Essential Guide to the Best Recruiters in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, Funk has successfully consulted with the search committees and boards of the country’s most visible and respected institutions.
Called the “guru of higher education recruiting” by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Funk has conducted more than 250 university and college president and chancellor searches during the past 23 years.
His presidential placements have been at both well-known private and major public institutions.
He is the national practice leader of Korn/Ferry International’s Education Practice, headquartered in Dallas.
He was awarded the 2001 Education Practice American Council on Education Network Leadership Award based on Korn/Ferry’s leading role in advancing women into senior level positions in higher education institutions.
Prior to joining Korn/Ferry 12 years ago, Funk enjoyed a 12-year career with Heidrick & Struggles, another major search firm.
He began his career with Exxon Corp. where he ascended through five positions of increasing responsibility in six years.
He is a former board member at the University of the Ozarks and is a frequent speaker to various higher education audiences.
He is the recipient of Cal U’s 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognized his commitment to the higher education community, and holds a master of arts degree in government from Ohio University and a master of science degree in industrial relations from the Krannert School of Industrial Administration at Purdue University.
Cal U Provost Donald J. Thompson will present candidates at both ceremonies along with Dr. Thomas G. Kinsey, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research, and Dr. Rose Reinhart, associate provost/registrar, at the Friday ceremony, and Geraldine M. Jones, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, Dr. Sean Madden, acting dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Leonard Colelli, dean of the Eberly College of Science and Technology and Dr. Joe D. Forrester, president of the Community College of Beaver County at the Saturday ceremony.
The Rev. Jana Quisenberry will deliver the invocation and benediction at both ceremonies, while Brass Unlimited will perform the processional and recessional.
The breakdown of degrees of the May 2006 attending graduates is: 115 graduate, 219 education and human services, 192 liberal arts and 173 science and technology.
A December commencement will be held for all August and December 2006 graduates.
There are 144 students who will receive degrees in absentia.
A special area in Hamer Hall will be made available to guests who are physically challenged.
For more information concerning either commencement, call Diane Sesco, academic events coordinator, at 724-938-1522, or visit the commencement Web site under the “What’s Happening” section of Cal U’s main Web site at www.cup.edu.