Pittsburgh Police Chief, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer to Speak at 2017 Graduation Ceremonies Friday, April 21, 2017
Point Park University will celebrate the annual Hooding and Degree Conferral and Commencement ceremonies Saturday, April 29 at PPG Paints Arena.
Graduate Hooding and Degree Conferral
9 a.m.
PPG Paints Arena
Alumnus Scott E. Schubert - the City of Pittsburgh's new police chief -will give the keynote address at graduate hooding.
Schubert - a 24-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Police - earned an M.S. in criminal justice administration in 2010, and a B.S. in law enforcement (Criminal Justice) in 2007. He is also a part-time professor at Point Park.
"We take great pride in developing the Pittsburgh region's future leaders," said Paul Hennigan, Ed.D., president of Point Park. "There is no better example than Scott, who started as a patrolman and has spent more than two decades steadily rising to the top."
Approximately 280 students will receive graduate degrees from more than 20 master's programs. In addition, 17 students will receive Doctor of Education degrees in leadership and administration. Honorary doctorate degrees will be awarded to the Honorable Tom and Susan Corbett.
Undergraduate Commencement
12:30 p.m.
PPG Paints Arena
Martha Rial - a Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer - is the featured Commencement speaker.
In 1998, Rial won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In 1996, she traveled to Tanzania to photograph refugees after the civil war left nearly one million people dead over three years in Burundi and Rwanda.
Her work has earned the Scripps Howard Foundation Award for Photojournalism, a National Headliner Award and the Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors. She also was named Pennsylvania News Photographer of the Year.
"Throughout her career, Martha has had the dedication and perseverance to go wherever the best stories took her, whether it was the mountains of Haiti or African villages devastated by genocide," President Hennigan said. "Hearing from someone like Martha, who has been relentless in her pursuit of excellence, is the best way to send our graduates off into the real world."
Rial's recent endeavors include the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project, a traveling exhibition of photographs chronicling the impact of shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and "In Uganda, A School to Call Home," a solo exhibit at Gallery 937 featuring the empowerment of children in Uganda.
More than 680 students will graduate from the University's Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Communication and the Conservatory of Performing Arts. Rial will also receive an honorary degree.
Congratulations to Point Park University's Class of 2017!