University of Pittsburgh to Hold Its 2006 Commencement April 30 in the Petersen Events Center

PITTSBURGH-University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg will welcome graduating members of the Class of 2006, faculty, trustees, alumni, staff, and invited guests, family, and friends attending Pitt's 2006 Commencement at 1 p.m. April 30 in the Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace St., Oakland.

Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, the first female president to lead an Ivy League school-the University of Pennsylvania-will deliver the University's 2006 commencement address and receive the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James V. Maher.

Chief University Marshal Irene Hanson Frieze will open the ceremony, leading a procession of faculty, staff, the Council of Deans, trustees, administrative officers, and graduating class members in full academic regalia; Frieze is a professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences and president of the University Senate. Music will be provided by the University Symphonic Band, under the direction of Pitt Director of Bands Jack R. Anderson.

After Rodin receives her honorary degree, Pitt Alumnus Ralph J. Cappy (CAS '65, LAW '68), chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and chair of Pitt's Board of Trustees, will present the University Citation honoring her. Rodin will then deliver the commencement address.

After the awarding of diplomas by Nordenberg, Maher, and the deans of the schools and colleges, Lauren A. Cavallaro will speak on behalf of the graduating class. Cavallaro, president of Pitt's Pan Hellenic Council and a student in the School of Arts and Sciences, will receive the Bachelor of Arts degree during the commencement ceremony. Her talk will be followed by an address from Keith E. Schaefer (CAS '71), president of the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association, who will welcome the graduates as Pitt's newest alumni.

In all, Pitt is conferring approximately 6,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees this year to students on the Pittsburgh campus and approximately 1,000 undergraduate degrees to students on the Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville regional campuses, which hold their own commencement ceremonies.

Prior to becoming president of the Rockefeller Foundation in March 2005, Rodin served as the seventh president of her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, from 1994 to 2004. She held faculty appointments at Penn as a Fox Leadership Professor, a professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and a professor of medicine and psychiatry in the School of Medicine. While at Penn, Rodin served on the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and on a panel that reviewed White House security. For 10 years, she chaired an international research network studying health and behavior for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She also chaired the Council of Presidents of the Universities Research Association. Rodin came to Penn from Yale University, where she served as provost from 1992 through 1994 and held appointments as professor of psychology, medicine, and psychiatry. She also served as Dean of Yale's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of Psychology.

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4/26/06/tmw