Lebanon Valley College to Host 147th Commencement Saturday, May 14

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Lebanon Valley College will honor nearly 500 graduates during its 147th Commencement on Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m. in Louis A. Sorrentino Gymnasium.

ANNVILLE, PA (05/11/2016)(readMedia)-- Lebanon Valley College will honor nearly 500 graduates during its 147th Commencement on Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m. in Louis A. Sorrentino Gymnasium. The Baccalaureate Service is scheduled for Friday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. in Frederic K. Miller Chapel.

The College expects more than 4,000 parents and family members to attend Commencement. All attendees are asked to review information relating to the day's activities, including parking, shuttles, photography, and ticketing at www.lvc.edu/commencement.

This year 369 undergraduate students are eligible to participate in Commencement. They will be joined by 70 master of business administration, music education, or science education degree candidates, as well as 37 doctor of physical therapy students. Undergraduate and graduate students who graduated in December 2015 are invited to participate in Commencement; students who will complete their degrees in August and December 2016 are also welcome to walk in the Commencement ceremony.

The Commencement speaker will be Dr. Timothy Peelen, LVC associate professor of chemistry. He was selected as speaker according to tradition after receiving The Thomas Rhys Vickroy Distinguished Teaching Award at the 2015 Commencement. The Vickroy Award is the College's top teaching honor for a full-time faculty member.

Dr. Peelen has spent the past 10 years facilitating student research, and mentoring students who have continued on to work in industry and attend top-tier graduate programs. He has been awarded four nationally competitive external grants that total more than a half million dollars, most recently from the National Science Foundation to support multiple LVC science students in a 10-week international undergraduate research experience in Budapest, Hungary, over three years, ending in 2017. Dr. Peelen's personal research focuses on the development of asymmetric reactions catalyzed by simple organic molecules (organocatalysts) and light-driven reactions catalyzed by copper complexes.

The Baccalaureate speaker will be Reverend Carolyn Winfrey Gillette '82. Rev. Gillette was confirmed in the United Methodist Church and received her M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1985. She started writing hymn texts in 1998 while attending Synod School, a summer church conference of the Synod of the Trinity of the Presbyterian Church. Congregations in every state of the U.S.A. and in several other countries have sung her hymns; they have been on national PBS-TV three times and the BBC-TV in the United Kingdom. Her hymns are found on the national websites of numerous churches and other organizations, and have appeared in books and magazines.

This year's Baccalaureate will feature a new hymn written by Lebanon Valley College students. The Office of Spiritual Life and the Music Department hosted a two-part hymn writing competition. Quentin Gable '19, a music education major, wrote the hymn, "Guide Us," while Abigail Mosior '17, a music and music education double major, created the melody, harmony, and organ accompaniment.

As part of Commencement, the College will also award three faculty and student commendations. The H. Anthony Neidig Award (top student) includes a monetary award and commemorative medallion; the 2016 Thomas Rhys Vickroy Distinguished Teaching Award (top professor) includes a monetary award and Commencement speaking rights for the 2017 ceremony; and the Nevelyn J. Knisley Award (top part-time/adjunct member) includes a monetary award.

The College will broadcast Commencement live at www.lvc.edu/LVCtv for those unable to attend. A rebroadcast of Commencement will be available at www.youtube.com/user/LebanonValleyCollege.