Former Sister Thea Bowman Foundation Exec to Receive Honorary Degree

As part of this year’s virtual commencement ceremony, Duquesne will present an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Mary Lou Jennings, who recently retired as executive director of the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation after more than 30 years of service.

In addition, two student speakers will deliver remarks during the commencement ceremony on behalf of the undergraduate and graduate-level classes of 2021.

President Ken Gormley will present an honorary degree to Jennings during the virtual ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 6.

Jennings helped establish the foundation after being inspired by a conversation she had in 1984 in Mississippi with Bowman, a Black woman religious who inspired Catholics and non-Catholics with her uplifting call for better education for Black children.

Today, the foundation works to establish the means to rekindle and enliven the hope and opportunities Catholic schools can offer Black children. The organization provides scholarship opportunities annually to young African-Americans who may not have access to quality, Catholic higher education.

The Sister Thea Bowman Foundation has placed and graduated more than 150 students in Catholic high education at Duquesne and other partner institutions across the United States. The foundation’s work centers around Pittsburgh and Chicago.

“The foundation is focused upon the intellectual formation of its students and their spiritual information,” Jennings wrote on the organization’s website. “With every passing day, it is my hope that all of us working within this foundation will always make an attempt to take each student where they are and to listen to them so that we can walk with them and understand their God-given genius.”

This year’s commencement student speakers are Marco Hosfeld, who will receive his M.S. in biomedical engineering from the Rangos School of Health Sciences, and Kayla Harris, who will receive a B.A. in psychology from the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts.

Hosfeld earned a B.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 2018. During his time at Duquesne as a graduate student, he worked on two articles awaiting publication with Associate Professor Dr. Jelena Janjic in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also worked for Janjic in her lab.

As an undergraduate, Harris worked as a resident assistant in St. Martin’s residence hall, served as vice president of the Black Student Union and was internal audit chair for the Duquesne chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. She also was an intern for the University’s Center for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research.

Additionally, graduate student Margaret Allen will introduce the deans during the pre-recorded virtual commencement ceremony. She will receive her M.S. in education with a focus in child psychology. Allen earned a B.A. in psychology in 2018 from the McAnulty College and was a member of the Honors College. She worked as a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Life, served as an advisor to Phi Eta Sigma and the Freshman Class Council, and worked as a registered behavior technician at Achieving True Self.

Duquesne University will honor members of the class of 2021 with a two-part approach to commencement that will include both virtual and in-person components.

The in-person events are limited to two guests for each student graduating in May, and tickets are required for admittance. Masking, social distancing and contact protocols will be in place. Each event will be live-streamed and available online.

Visit the University’s Commencement website for additional information, including the schedule of events, details on how to RSVP for in-person ceremonies, retrieve tickets, diplomas, regalia and more. Live-streaming links will be added on the dates of each of the events.