Under the Arch

GANNON TO AWARD 233 DEGREES AT WINTER COMMENCEMENT

Gannon University will award 233 degrees during its Winter Commencement ceremony, to be held Sunday, Dec. 11.

The graduates include five students receiving associate’s degrees, 77 receiving bachelor’s degrees, 150 receiving master’s degrees, and one doctoral degree recipient. Seven students will graduate summa cum laude, nine magna cum laude, six cum laude, and two with academic honors.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in Gannon’s Hammermill Center, Peach Street and South Park Row.

Students and their families also can participate in the Graduation Mass, scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, 512 Peach Street.

Edward M. Gabriel, former United States Ambassador to Morocco, and current President and CEO of the Gabriel Group, will be the keynote speaker and will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony.

A native of Olean, N.Y., he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Gannon in 1972.

A former national security, trade, energy and environmental consultant to multi-national corporations, Gabriel served as executive director of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes in Washington D.C., and Denver, providing assistance in the development of multi-million dollar energy and economic development projects.

In 1986, he assumed the presidency of Miner & Fraser Public Affairs, which he bought and re-founded in 1988 as Madison Public Affairs Group, located in Washington. Gabriel also served as senior vice president in charge of corporate affairs for the CONCORD Corporation. Currently, he is president/owner of the Gabriel Group, which represents American corporations on investment strategies for international projects as well as consultative services on issues related to Moroccan economic development.

Gabriel was nominated to his ambassadorial position in Morocco by President Clinton and served in Rabat from November, 1997 to April, 2001. Gabriel was actively involved in matters of Russian and European nuclear non-proliferation and safety, and he also served as an advisor to the United States Government on Middle-Eastern policy matters. Gabriel is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Task Force for Lebanon and the Development Advisory Committee of the Arab American Institute.

Gabriel is also a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a member of the Global Advisory Board of George Washington University, and a member of the boards of Amid East, the Tangier American Legation Museum, the Casablanca American School, and the American School of Tangier.

In 1998, Gabriel was honored with the Gannon University Distinguished Alumni Award in Business, when he and former classmate, Richard McGlinchey, established the Wilbur J. Johnson and Edward M. Gabriel International Studies Scholarship.

Gabriel resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Kathleen Linehan Gabriel.

OUR EVENTS

Tuesday, December 6 – Brown Bag Lunch: Scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Founder’s Room of Nash Library. The subject is “New Books for the Holiday Season.”
Tuesday, December 6 – Advent Reconciliation Service: Offered at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel.
Sunday, December 11 – Winter Commencement: Scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hammermill Center. Edward M. Gabriel, president and CEO of the Gabriel Company, will deliver the keynote address. The Graduation Mass will be offered at 11 a.m. in the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel. Bishop Trautman will preside.
Sunday, December 11 – Children’s Memorial Service: The local observance will be held at the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel. The ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m. with the registration of names to be remembered, followed by a candle lighting ceremony, music, readings, and poems. An informal fellowship will follow the ceremony. Call ext. 5624 for more information.
Sunday, December 11 – Mid-Knight Pancake Breakfast: scheduled for 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the cafeteria. Call ext. 5800 to volunteer to help at the event, which is designed to give students a break from studying for final exams.
Monday-Friday, December 12-16 – Finals Week.
“Our Events” is intended to serve as a random sample of campus events. For a more complete listing, refer to Eventcal.

THE PRESIDENT'S SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 8 – Community Mass; student hour; VISTA Dinner at Allegheny College; Gannon women’s basketball vs. Glenville State. Saturday, December 10 – United Way Project Blueprint power breakfast/panel discussion; Gannon basketball: women’s team vs. West Virginia Wesleyan, men’s team vs. Penn State McKeesport; dinner with commencement keynote speaker. Sunday, December 11 – Baccalaureate Mass; Commencement Brunch; Commencement Ceremony; Mid-Knight Pancake Breakfast.

CURRENT BIRTHDAYS

Patrick Pontzer. Stephanie Williams. Renee Thibodeau. Sherry Komorek. Marilyn Dombrowski. Annmarie George. Lauren Foltz. Cheryl McIntosh. Melanie Dash. Vincent Fetzner. Paula Barrett. Heather Turner. Gary Garnic. Karen Weston. Barry Brinkman. Ronald Lombard. Julie Brieger. Gary Carver. Donna Green. Cheryl Rink. Ken Morgan. Richard Zack. Mary Crane. Julie Hartmann. Scott Stevens. Lisa Wenner. Stan Zagorski. Britt Daehnke. Janice Sitter. Kevin Hart. Mary Sibley.

HEARD ON CAMPUS

Brown Bag Lunch: Nash Library presents: “New Books for the Holiday Season,” A Brown Bag Lunch. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the library’s Founder's Room on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Marion Gallivan and Deb West will discuss some of the new fall book releases ready for the holiday break and available in the Nash Library. Feel free to bring your lunch; desserts and beverage will be provided. Gallivan also will discuss children’s books that make great gifts too.
The annual Mid-Knight Pancake Breakfast will be held Sunday, Dec. 11 from 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the cafeteria. The breakfast is designed to give students a break from studying for final exams. Volunteers and fun door prizes for students are needed. If you want to volunteer or donate a prize, contact Angela Jones at ext. 5800.
Gannon University’s Schuster Gallery cordially invites you to view its current exhibit of paintings, “Father and Son,” featuring the work of Vitus J. and Michael J. Kaiser. The gallery is located on the third floor of Nash Library and is open during regular library hours. The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 9. For more information call ext. 5467.