Spring Commencement, Diploma Ceremonies Slated for This Weekend

The University will be celebrating its nearly 1,580 graduates at this weekend’s Commencement and diploma ceremonies.

Following the annual Baccalaureate Mass at noon, the Commencement ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 6, in the A.J. Palumbo Center. President Charles J. Dougherty, who will preside at the ceremony, is delivering the Commencement address in addition to receiving an honorary doctor of humane letters. David McCullough, a two-time Pulitzer-prize-winning author and Pittsburgh native, will also be presented with an honorary doctor of humane letters.

Both the Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement can be viewed via live webcast at www.duq.edu/commencement.

The schedule for the diploma ceremonies is as follows:

  • McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, Friday, May 6, at 6 p.m., A.J. Palumbo Center.
    Keynote speaker: James K. Hanna, GA, 14, adjunct professor in the Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame University.
  • School of Education, Saturday, May 7, at 9 a.m., A.J. Palumbo Center.
    Keynote speaker: Saleem Ghubril, executive director of The Pittsburgh Promise.
  • Mary Pappert School of Music, Saturday at 9 a.m., Union Ballroom.
    Remarks: Dr. Seth Beckman, dean of the School of Music.
  • Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, Saturday at noon, A.J. Palumbo Center.
    Keynote speaker: Matthew Costello, B’95, vice president at Apple and chief operating officer of Apple subsidiary Beats by Dr. Dre.
  • Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Saturday at noon, Union Ballroom.
    Keynote speaker: Dr. Charles Kahle, retired chief technology officer and vice president of research and development at PPG Industries.
  • School of Nursing, Saturday at 3 p.m., A.J. Palumbo Center.
    Keynote speaker: Dr. Anne Bavier, Ph.D.’03, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at the University of Texas at Arlington, and president of the National League for Nursing.
  • Rangos School of Health Sciences, Saturday at 6 p.m., A.J. Palumbo Center.
    Keynote speaker: Dr. James S. Withers, founder and medical director of Operation Safety Net at UPMC Mercy Hospital.