Much is Expected of The University of Scranton’s Class of 2010

May 31, 2010
The University of Scranton conferred nearly 950 bachelor's and associate's degrees at its undergraduate commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
The University of Scranton conferred nearly 950 bachelor's and associate's degrees at its undergraduate commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

      This weekend The University of Scranton conferred a record number of degrees - nearly 1,620 - at two commencement ceremonies. The University conferred approximately 950 bachelor's and associate's degrees at its undergraduate commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

      The principal was speaker Carolyn Forché, an award-winning poet, translator, essayist and human rights activist who coined the term "poetry of witness" to describe her politically engaged poetry.

      "(Carolyn Forché) proves that graduation is not only a time for pageantry. It is also a time for poetry. The witness of her words and example resonates with the University's commitment to promote justice in the Jesuit tradition," said Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of The University of Scranton, in his remarks at commencement. Forché's address marked the culmination of Scranton's year long remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador and their companions and the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

       Forché's told the graduates that during the years she worked as a human rights activist in El Salvador, she "sought and received the guidance of Father Ignacio Ellacuria of the Society of Jesus, one of the six Jesuit Priests murdered along with their two co-workers by the Salvadoran army on November 16, 1989. His door was always open, as it was for all. This was his message: ‘The struggle against injustice and the pursuit of truth cannot be separated nor can one work for one independent of the other.'"

      She told graduates that they "have the potential to be noble of spirit" and that they may "become the most important generation that has ever lived."

      Father Pilarz also told the Class of 2010 "your education here at Scranton introduced you to high ideals and aspirations. Yours is a formation that elicits great desires, desires that direct your days and works to the glory of God and the well-being of humankind."

      At the ceremony, Forché received an honorary degree from The University of Scranton, as did Rev. Charles L. Currie, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities; John D. Dionne, senior managing director and head of Private Equity Investor Relations and Business Development for The Blackstone Group; Mary Beth Farrell, former executive vice president of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; and Robert T. Healey, founder and trustee of the Viking Yacht Company.

      The University of Scranton's undergraduate class of 2010 included four recipients of Fulbright fellowships and a recipient of the National Security Education Program Boren Scholarship. Graduates represented 14 states including Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Majors with the most graduates were biology, nursing, communication, marketing and accounting.

      The list of graduates and program of speakers can be seen by clicking here.

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