Duquesne to Celebrate 2018 Graduates at Spring Commencement

The University will honor more than 1,300 graduates during its 2018 Spring Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 11, at 2 p.m. in the A.J. Palumbo Center.

E.J. Dionne
E.J. Dionne

Nationally syndicated columnist and television commentator E.J. Dionne will deliver the keynote address at the annual event. Dionne has been a columnist for The Washington Post since 1993 and is the author of seven books. He is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and a professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University, where he teaches in the McCourt School of Public Policy and the government department.

“We are pleased to welcome back the highly respected journalist E.J. Dionne as our Commencement speaker,” said President Ken Gormley, noting that Dionne has spoken on campus several times over the years. “It is fitting that E.J. will speak about the importance of faith in public service—a topic that is close to his heart and also speaks to a vital part of the University’s mission.”

Following Commencement, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, the second African-American mayor in that city’s history, will deliver remarks at the diploma ceremony for the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts. Turner helped to lead Houston’s recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

“It’s an honor that Mayor Turner, who was my classmate at Harvard Law School, has carved out time to be part of this special day,” Gormley said. “Public service often poses difficult challenges and none more difficult than those faced by Sylvester and the residents of Houston over the past year. His grace under pressure and commitment to public service are values we work hard to instill in our students every day.”

In addition, Gormley will present an honorary degree to Duquesne alumna Marie Milie Jones, the first female chair of the University’s Board of Directors and founding partner of the law firm JonesPassodelis.

The Commencement ceremony will be preceded by the University’s Baccalaureate Mass at noon in the A.J. Palumbo Center. Both events will be broadcast live via webcast at http://www.duq.edu/commencement.

The schedule for Saturday’s Spring diploma ceremonies is as follows:

  • Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, 9 a.m., A.J. Palumbo Center. Speaker: Stephan Schenk, president and chief executive officer of TD Group US Holdings
  • Mary Pappert School of Music, 9 a.m., Union Ballroom. Speaker: Jim Anderson,  internationally recognized recording engineer for Anderson Audio New York, a worldwide music production company
  • Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, noon, A.J. Palumbo Center. Speaker: Gianni Floro, personal injury, criminal defense and civil rights attorney
  • Biomedical Engineering, noon, Union Ballroom. Speaker: Gregg Scheller, chief executive officer of Katalyst Surgical (Ophthalmology) and chairman of Kogengt Surgical (Neurosurgery)
  • School of Education, 3 p.m., Union Ballroom. Speaker: Po-Shen Loh, associate professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University
  • School of Nursing, 3 p.m., A.J. Palumbo Center. Speaker: Dr. Michael R. Bleich, president and chief executive officer of NursDynamics, LLC
  • Rangos School of Health Sciences, 6 p.m., A.J. Palumbo Center. Speaker: Dr. Elena Marie Andresen, executive vice president and provost of Oregon Health and Science University.