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Utica College’s 62nd Commencement Ceremony to Honor Grads, Alumni

Valedictorian, Salutatorian Local Women

Written By Katie Gleitsmann '12, PR Intern

Contact - cleogrande@utica.edu

Utica, NY (05/11/2011) - On Sunday, May 15, Utica College will add 855 alumni to its books at the 62nd Commencement Ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

This year’s commencement speaker is successful businessman and author Gary Kunath, founder of The Summit Group, a company known for training clients in collaborative customer planning, sales and marketing integration, and partnership and alliance development.

The 2011 valedictorian is Erin M. Murphy, a biology major from West Winfield, N.Y. Murphy is graduating with a 3.99 GPA with 122 UC credits while working as a teaching assistant for Sharon Wise, associate professor of biology. The daughter of Dan and Christine Murphy, she plans to attend veterinary school at the University of Missouri.

This year’s salutatorian is Lauren N. Penc, a health studies major enrolled in the physical therapy program from Deerfield, N.Y. Penc is graduating with a GPA of 4.0 with 66 UC credits and she is the daughter of John A. Penc Jr. and Linda M. Penc. She is also a graduate of Whitesboro High School and Mohawk Valley Community College. After graduation, she plans to attend the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at Utica College to become a pediatric physical therapist.

Elizabeth Grates, an online healthcare administration student from Raleigh, N.C., is the 2011 academic representative for the graduate class. Grates, a 2005 Utica College nursing graduate, earns this degree with a 4.0 GPA. She currently works at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as an episodic care manager in the health management and operations division.

Raymond Serway, a 1959 graduate of Utica College and professor emeritus at James Madison University in Virginia, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. Serway graduated from UC cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in physics, earned a master’s degree in physics from the University of Colorado in 1961, and a doctorate from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1967.

The 855 graduates include those students earning bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees who have completed their academic requirements this month, or will complete the requirements in August and December of this year.

For those who are not able to attend the ceremony in person, it will be streamed live via the Utica College website: www.utica.edu/live.