Mount Aloysius College Graduates 398 at Commencement

Honorary Degrees Conferred Upon Judge D. Brooks Smith, Trinity Washington University President Patricia Wright and Cresson Couple, John and Genevieve Calandra.

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Cresson, Pa. - Mount Aloysius College President Tom Foley conferred 12 Masters Degrees,  191 Bachelors Degrees and 195 Associate Degrees as 398 Mount Aloysius students join the ranks of nearly 14,000 Mountie alumni worldwide. The Mount Aloysius College Commencement ceremony took place Saturday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. in the Health and Fitness Center on campus. The event marked the 159th time students have graduated from Mount Aloysius. The school was founded by the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 1853. During the proceedings, three honorary doctoral degrees were conferred. In conferring degrees, President Foley was assisted by Sr. Helen Burns, RSM, vice president for mission integration.  Mr. Daniel W. Rullo, Esq. Mount Aloysius College Board of Trustees chairman greeted graduates, their guests, faculty and staff.

Graduation weekend at Mount Aloysius officially began with a new relatively tradition. A Toast to the graduating class took place on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. in Cosgrave Center. The Class of 2012 was officially toasted by President Foley; Sr. Helen Marie Burn, RSM, vice president for mission integration and Dr. Timothy Fulop, vice president for academic affairs. The Class of 2012 was then welcomed into the global family of Alumni of Mount Aloysius by Jack Anderson, vice president for institutional advancement.

As President Foley addressed the graduates during his portion the Toast, he offered the graduating class great advice, but not before marking a series of “Firsts” inaugurated by the class of 2012. Noting that they were the largest entering bachelor degree class and largest entering associate degree class in the history of the school, he recited an impressive list of firsts the class could claim: “You were the first class to hail from 20 different states; the first to go to Guyana, China and Ireland on mission trips; the first class with a student who studied abroad, and the first class to send students to pharmacy and medical school,” he said. President Foley also remarked that the Class of 2012 marked the first time that over 50 percent of all student-athletes achieved a 3.25 grade point average in a single semester and the first time women’s basketball advanced to the AMCC final four. “You will always be able to say that you were at Mount Aloysius the first time MAC teams made the playoffs four years in a row; the first time 800 MAC students performed community service in a single semester and that you were there when MAC won the first ever AMCC Award for Student-Athlete Academic Excellence.”  

The Baccalaureate Mass at Mount Aloysius College took place Friday afternoon, May 4th at 4:00 p.m. in the historic Our Lady of Mercy Chapel. Celebrant and Homilist for the event was Most Reverend Mark L. Bartchak, bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Bishop Bartchak was assisted by Reverend Mr. Robert D. Bailey. Sr. Eric Marie Setlock, RSM served as director of musicians for the event. 

Immediately following the Graduation Liturgy, Pinning ceremonies were held throughout the campus for Mount Aloysius Graduates in Medical Assistantship; Medical Imaging; Medical Laboratory Technician; Surgical Technology, Physical Therapy Assistant and Nursing. As part of the ritual for Pinning in the health sciences, hands of all graduates were anointed with sacred oil and blessed.

Delivering the Student Invocation Saturday’s Commencement for 2012 was Mrs. Amber Lenhard. Mrs. Lenhard is a veteran of the United State Air Force and a resident of historic Colver, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Lenhard graduated with a Masters in Business Administration.

Mr. Brandon T. Ryan and Ms. Kimberly Rentuma officially welcomed fellow graduates to their Commencement. Mr. Ryan of Tyrone, Pennsylvania graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and History/Political Science. He has been accepted to study law at Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh this fall. Kimberly Rentuma is a native of Pasadena, Md. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Studies: Behavioral and Social Science - Pre-Physical Therapy.

The Speaker for the 2012 Mount Aloysius College Commencement was The Honorable Judge D. Brooks Smith, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Smith’s remarks, entitled “Listening” served as the capstone of an 18-month campus-wide theme of “Civil Discourse” at Mount Aloysius College, initiated in January 2011 by Mount Aloysius President Tom Foley. The initiative has gained national acclaim and was cited by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in their recommendations regarding the promotion of Civility on campus.

Highlighting the Mount Aloysius College Commencement was the conferring of three Honorary Doctoral Degrees.

Judge D. Brooks Smith, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
The Honorable D. Brooks Smith received the Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa. A portion of his Citation read:
Judge Smith, your professional contributions extend beyond your work from the bench. You have served on more than fifteen oversight commissions, boards, and committees dealing with the rules and practices of the judiciary and the legal profession in general.   You have written frequently for law reviews and legal journals on topics that include the separation of powers, federalism, and the rule of law; and you speak frequently at legal conferences across the country.  Perhaps the most extraordinary of all your efforts off the bench has been your role as a judicial ambassador. You have traveled to fourteen countries including Turkey, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Bulgaria, and the Philippines as part of democracy building programs sponsored by the U.S. departments of Justice and State, the European Community, United States Agency for International Development, and the American Bar Association. Through your presentations on judicial ethics and human rights and your work on judicial training and assessment, you have been a champion of democratic ideals and the rule of law.

John M. And Genevieve M. Calandra, Doctor of Social Justice, honoris causa.
Cresson couple, John M. and Genevieve M. Calandra, recognized regionally as generous philanthropists and accomplished business and community leaders received the Doctor of Social Justice degree, honoris causa. As a couple, you are known throughout central Pennsylvania for your philanthropic support of non-profit groups dedicated to enhancing life, protecting lives, and promoting wellbeing. A hallmark of your generosity is the quiet, often anonymous, way in which you have shared. A sample of local groups and projects you have supported includes the fire company, ambulance service, food pantry, canine unit, Veteran’s and Children’s Parks, and even the local golf course.  Jack, you have also devoted three decades of service to the Naval Academy Foundation and its mission to enhance the Academy’s programs in academics, athletics, and leadership as well as to advance the admission of highly-qualified candidates. In this last regard, you have personally guided dozens of young aspirants on their way to the Academy and on to careers in the United States Navy. … Genevieve you have served the church selflessly through your leadership in the Legion of Mary and your charism of visiting the sick as a Eucharistic minister. Like the good wife of Proverbs, you have reached out your hand to the needy…and the teaching of kindness has been upon your tongue.

President of Trinity Washington University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
Dr. Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity College, distinguished by the rarity of receiving the prestigious Paley Award as a sitting college president by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, (NAICU), received the Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa. A portion of her Doctoral Citation read:
President McGuire, your influence extends well beyond the Trinity campus.  As a recognized leader among your fellow college presidents, you have served on many of the major governing bodies of higher education, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.  Such is the regard for your leadership, that the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities awarded you their 2012 Paley Award for service to higher education, a rare instance of the award being given to a sitting college president. You have also maintained a robust engagement as a public intellectual. Through frequent testimony before the Congress, countless speeches, opinion pieces in leading print journals, service on numerous corporate, governmental, and non-profit boards, and your popular Washington Post blog on leadership, your ideas and influence have spread beyond the world of education and earned you a spot on the list of Washington’s 150 Most Powerful People.

Dr. Timothy E. Fulop, academic dean at Mount Aloysius College, assisted by Mr. Paul S. Farcus, associate academic dean presented the 2012 graduates. Mount Aloysius President Tom Foley officially conferred their respective degrees upon all graduates or 2012.

The Student Commencement Address was delivered by Mr. Connor Walsh. Mr. Walsh of North Plainfield, New Jersey graduated, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology.

Benediction for the Mount Aloysius College Commencement was given by Sr. Nancy Donovan, RSM, director of campus ministries

The accomplished Mount Aloysius College Choir, Vox Nova, performed the College Alma Mater. The instrumental processional was performed by “A Touch of Brass.”

CAPTION: Judge Smith  – Judge D. Brooks Smith delivers the 2012 Mount Aloysius College Commencement Address entitled “Listening.” His remarks were the capstone event of an 18-month campus-wide discussion on “Civil Discourse” which gained the College national recognition by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
Looking on, from left, are Board of Trustees Chairman Daniel W. Rullo, Esq.; Sr. Sara Sweeney, RSM, board member; Mount Aloysius President Tom Foley, Judge Smith; Honorary Degree Recipient Patricia Wright and Board Member, Michael McLanahan. In front, interpreting for the deaf is Ms. Gale DeArmin. Fellow interpretor for the event was Mr. James L. Wright.

CAPTION: Amber Lenhard graduating with a Masters in Business Administration offered a spirited Student Invocation during Mount Aloysius Commencement. Mrs. Lenhard, a faculty member in the Mount Aloysius Medical Imaging Department, is a veteran of the United States Air Force. She and her family reside in historic Colver, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Lenhard and her husband, Keith, are the parents of two children, Donovan and Abigail. Keith, a United States Navy Seabee, also graduated during Commencement the Surgical Technician program. Amber’s mother, Brenda Orr, will graduate from Mount Aloysius College later this year with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. Shown here, from left are: Timothy E. Fulop, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty; Daniel W. Rullo, Esq., chairman of the Mount Aloysius Board of Trustees; Mrs. Lenhard; Mount Aloysius President Tom Foley and Commencement Speaker Judge D. Brooks Smith.