Indiana University of Pennsylvania's graduate and undergraduate winter Commencement ceremonies will take place Saturday, December 12, 2015.
The ceremony for graduate students will be at 9:30 a.m. in the IUP Performing Arts Center's Fisher Auditorium. The undergraduate ceremony will be at 1:00 p.m. in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
This December, the university will award four associate degrees, 553 bachelor's degrees, 197 master's degrees, and 40 doctorates.
A total of 214 of the undergraduate degree recipients are graduating with honors.
Mark Harrison Bowser, graduating with a bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics with a minor in chemistry, will be the student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony.
Bowser, of Templeton, is a dean's list student and provost scholar. He has been active with service to the local homeless community and has served the global community traveling to Ethiopia and Botswana for relief efforts. He serves as a military intelligence analyst for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
Meghan Ferraro, of Brookville, who is graduating with a doctorate in education degree in educational and school psychology, will be the graduate ceremony student speaker.
She has been a student at IUP in the Educational and School Psychology Department since 2007 when she began her master's degree program. Since that time, she has been in the top five percent of her class and is described by her faculty as “a leader among her peers” throughout her studies at IUP.
A total of 11 students will be recognized for achieving a perfect 4.0 grade point average at the ceremony.
Maureen McHugh, professor of psychology and IUP's 2015–16 Distinguished University Professor, will serve as the keynote speaker for both the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies. The Distinguished University Professorship is an annual award presented to an IUP faculty member based on outstanding teaching, research, and scholarly activity. Recipients retain the title for life.
During her tenure as Distinguished University Professor, McHugh continues her scholarly work in gender-related studies, as well as violence and victimization related to gender. Her research has made significant contributions to her field on the regional, national, and international levels.
She is currently editing a book series on the psychology of women. The series will allow for a greater understanding of topics related to women's sexuality, women's sexual empowerment, and the issues related to sexual interactions and cultural practices.
The undergraduate ceremony will include the presentation of the senior class gift from Kristen Howett, from Whitehall, a graduate from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The gift will benefit the Dean's Merit Scholarship funds of the participating student givers' colleges.
Both ceremonies included greetings from the Alumni Association President Phillip Carrai, a 1983 IUP graduate.