12/5/2006

Contact: K.E. Schwab  -- 724-738-2199;  e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu

Click here for photo: Ms. Suber

SRU GRADUATE, NOW LEAD COPYRIGHT ATTORNEY AT MICROSOFT,

TO SPEAK AT DEC. 16 COMMENCEMENT; 550 DIPLOMAS TO BE AWARDED

          SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Elke Flores Suber, a 1993 Slippery Rock University graduate and lead copyright attorney for Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, and Microsoft Research, will be the speaker when the university confers more than 550 diplomas at its 1:30 p.m. Dec. 16 fall commencement ceremonies.

     Tickets are required for the Morrow Field House ceremony and each graduating student has received a five-ticket allotment. All, except participating faculty, are required to present a ticket for admission due to limited seating. The ceremony will see three doctor of physical education degrees awarded, along with nearly 80 master’s degrees and 475 undergraduate diplomas.

    Suber, who earned her bachelor of science degree in English writing along with a minor in German at SRU, went on to earn her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she was an associate editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce. At Microsoft, she provides legal advice and support on a variety of Microsoft products, including Microsoft’s XBox 360 and Xbox Live, the new Zune device and music service and Microsoft’s Mobile Embedded devices, on complex copyright issues. Her work also includes service on the American Law Institute-American Bar Association’s Advisory Panel on Intellectual Property.

      Prior to joining Microsoft, she worked at CIGNA Corp. as intellectual property counsel, where she was responsible for all facets of intellectual property support companywide, including counseling on copyright, trademark and internet issues, and negotiating and drafting software licensing agreements for the company’s domestic and international businesses. She had also served as an associate with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, where she was a member of the intellectual property group. At Akin, she counseled clients on intellectual property matters involving copyrights, trademarks and issues related to the Internet and also litigated cases in federal court involving intellectual property matters.

      Before joining Akin, Suber, a Brooklyn native, was a litigation associate at Anderson Kill & Olick, PC, where she litigated cases before the state and federal courts and represented music artists. After law school, she had clerked for the Honorable Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the Honorable Justin M. Johnson of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She is licensed to practice law before the State Bars of New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and frequently serves as a lecturer for ALI-ABA, BESLA, LSI and others on intellectual property issues. She is a member of Philadelphia Bar Association and the International Trademark Association. She has been a member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. She and her husband, Darrick W. Suber, a Pittsburgh native, have two sons.

      Degrees will be conferred by SRU President Robert Smith. Eric L. Holmes, a 1993 SRU graduate and president of the SRU Alumni Association will induct new graduates into the association, and Lt. Col. William Bialozor, head of SRU’s Army ROTC program, will administered the oath of office to two graduates being commissioned as second lieutenants.

     Suzanne Vessella, chair of the SRU council of trustees, will bring greetings from the trustees, and music will be provided by Dr. Glenn Utsch, assistant professor of music, and Michael Desnoyers, a performance major from Alleghany, N.Y. A reception for graduates and their guest will follow in Weisenfluh Dining Hall.         

PN, PGN, WPN, PR – Art available online.

CommencementDec06.kes.doc