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Press Releases
For Immediate Release
May 12, 2009
For more information, contact
Nicholas Mascari
(585) 395-2754
nmascari@brockport.edu
The College at Brockport Bids Farewell to the Class of 2009 - Commencement Ceremonies Saturday
Brockport, NY — Undergraduate and graduate students at The College at Brockport, State University of New York, will receive their degrees in two separate Commencement ceremonies on campus Saturday, May 16.
Margaret Robinson Preska, PhD ’57, will be the featured speaker at both the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies. Dr. Preska, a native of Parma, NY, also will receive an honorary degree at the undergraduate ceremony.
The Graduate Commencement Ceremony will begin at 9:15 am in the Tuttle North Ice Arena. College President John R. Halstead will award degrees to 219 graduate students.
The Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will begin at 12:45 pm, in the Special Olympics Stadium. Dr. Preska will be the featured speaker and receive an honorary degree from the State University of New York during the ceremony. More than 1,400 students will receive bachelor’s degrees and more than 5,000 family and friends are expected to fill the stadium for the event.
“Dr. Preska has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to education, and most especially to public higher education. The College is pleased to have one of its distinguished alumnae return to campus and to receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Our graduates will benefit greatly from her thoughts and inspirational career” said President Halstead.
Dr. Preska entered The College at Brockport at age 15. She graduated in 1957 summa cum laude. It was at Brockport that she first envisioned her career goal to become a college president, a goal she realized in 1979 when she became the first woman president of the Minnesota State University, Mankato. She held the position until 1992. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities named her president emerita and distinguished service professor.
In 1998, Dr. Preska helped found and was the CEO/provost of the Abu Dhabi campus of Zayed University, the first university for women in the in the United Arab Emirates.
Dr. Preska is currently the owner and CEO of the Robinson Preska Management Company. She also is a member of the Editor’s Circle of Milkweed Editions and on the Board of Directors of Xcel Energy Corporation.
Dr. Preska has returned to her alma mater often. She gave the Undergraduate Commencement address in 1979, the Scholars Day keynote address in 1995, and was inducted into the Brockport Alumni Association’s Hall of Heritage in 1988.
Traffic Alert College officials anticipate heavy traffic volumes in and around the campus area because of the two events. On campus, the University Police will be employing traffic control measures to ensure a safe, steady flow of traffic.
Both Commencement events are open to the public.
The College at Brockport, State University of New York
350 New Campus Drive * Brockport, New York 14420-2931
(585) 395-2754 * FAX (585) 395-2723 *
www.brockport.edu