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12/4/2002
Contact: K.E. Schwab --
724-738-2199; e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu
500 UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE DIPLOMAS TO BE
AWARDED –
SRU SELECTS PA. STATE SEN.
MARY JO WHITE AS WINTER COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University has
selected one of the region’s most distinguished leaders
Pennsylvania State Sen. Mary Jo White as speaker for its Dec. 14
commencement where some 500 graduating seniors will be presented
degrees.
The
1:30 p.m. ceremony will be held in Morrow Field House. Tickets are
not required; doors open at 11:30 a.m.
White,
a Fortune 500 executive, an environmental advocate, an energy
expert, public servant, economic development leader, and a wife,
mother and grandmother, was first elected in 1996. She hails from
Franklin, serving the 21st district, which consists of
Clarion Forest and Venango counties and portions of Butler, Erie
and Warren counties.
In
May, she joined local community leaders in welcoming Gov. Mark
Schweiker to Slippery Rock as he presented a $2 million grant to
“The Village of Slippery Rock” for downtown
revitalization. Sen. White was instrumental in securing critical
support for the project, which promises to greatly enhance the
environment for SRU students as well as for Slippery Rock
residents.
“The
Slippery Rock project was the poster child for how to galvanize
community support for an initiative,” she wrote in a recent
constituent newsletter. “The strong committed leadership of
the University, the business community, local government and some
special people made the project a joy to promote.”
White
has been a tireless ambassador for improving local telephone
service in the district and for providing greater access to
affordable Internet broadband. She spearheaded legislation to
prevent price gouging during times of disaster emergencies. She was
the prime sponsor of the state’s Growing Greener program for
restoring and protecting watersheds. She introduced legislation,
signed into law, to require accreditation for laboratories testing
to measure compliance with state environmental statutes. Recently,
Gov. Schweiker congratulated her leadership in passing the landmark
Water Resources Planning Act, the first successful effort on water
planning in 20 years. She also has been instrumental in developing
medical malpractice lawsuit reform.
Prior
to becoming a full-time public servant, White was vice president
for environmental/government affairs at Quaker State Corp., which
was founded and headquartered in Oil City, until its relocation to
Texas. The effect of that loss on Oil City increased her desire to
drive regional economic development. A cum laude political science
graduate of Quincy University, White earned her jurist doctorate
from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She was in general
practice with Dale and Woodard law firm in Franklin from 1972 to
1976, during which time she also served Venango County as a public
defender. She serves on numerous committees in the Pennsylvania
House.
COMMENCEMENT
CEREMONY: Wilma Cavill, assistant
professor of allied health, will serve as commencement grand
marshal.
University
President G. Warren Smith will preside and confer the bachelor and
master’s degrees, and Dr. Robert M. Smith, provost, and the
University’s deans will present the candidates. Phil
Wanchick, a 1967 SRU graduate and president of the SRU Alumni
Association will induct the graduates as new association
members.
Commencement day will open with
a 9 a.m. Army ROTC commissioning ceremony for three, second
lieutenants in the Strain Behavioral Science Building
Auditorium. The SRU Alumni Association will hold a breakfast
reception from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Russell Wright Alumni
House.
A reception for graduates and
their guests will be held in Weisenfluh Dining Hall immediately
following the
ceremony.
PN, PGN, WPN, PR, PT, S
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