Former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell delivered the commencement speech to members of the Susquehanna class of 2003 and their guests at the university's 145th graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 11 in Weber Chapel Auditorium. Three hundred and ninety-six students received bachelor degrees. An additional three students received associate degrees.
Mitchell joined Susquehanna alumna Hazel J. Brobst '51 Brown and William A. Gettig, an emeritus member of the university board of directors, to receive honorary Doctor of Laws degrees at the ceremony. The Rev. Michael L. Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree and served as the baccalaureate speaker.
Distinguished Senate Career
Mitchell was propelled into the national spotlight in 1980 when he was appointed to the U.S. Senate, completing the unexpired term of Sen. Edmund Muskie who resigned to become Secretary of State. In 1988, the Maine Democrat took the post of Senate majority leader, which he held until his retirement in 1995. During his 14-year career in the U.S. Senate, Mitchell served on the Finance, Veterans Affairs, and Environment and Public Works committees, and was a member of the Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair. He led the successful reauthorization of the Clean Air Act of 1990, authored the first national oil spill prevention and clean up law, was instrumental in passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and led the Senate to ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and creation of the World Trade Organization, as well as the nation's first childcare bill.
Upon leaving the Senate, Mitchell joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, Mcpherson and Hand. The author of four books, he serves as director of business enterprises including the Walt Disney Co., Federal Express Corp., and Xerox Corp. Mitchell is chairman of the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs.
Broker of Irish Peace Accord
In October 2000, at the request of President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and president of the Palestinian Council Yasser Arafat, Mitchell agreed to chair the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee to examine the crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians. He currently serves as independent overseer of the Liberty Disaster Fund, a separate, segregated account established by the American Red Cross to assist those affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Mitchell is also credited for brokering the historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement as chair of the International Commission on Disarmament in Northern Ireland. The achievement earned him numerous awards including the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, The United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed on a civilian by the U.S. government.
Honorary Degree Recipients
A licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist in the commonwealth, Brown is a professor of psychology emerita of Harrisburg Area Community College. Her career has included employment as a teacher, counselor, director of guidance and school psychologist in the West Shore School District, director of the Division of Children and Youth Services in the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health, and dean of continuing and community education at Harrisburg Area Community College. A resident of Camp Hill, Pa., she holds the doctorate in education from Pennsylvania State University.
Brown served as a member of the Susquehanna board of directors for six years and she received the university's Alumni Association Award for Service in 1998. In 1983, she and her husband, Robert, established The Clarence E. and Grace Ketler Brobst Scholarship Fund to help local students attending Susquehanna.
An emeritus member of the university's board of directors, Gettig of Millheim, Pa., is president and chief executive officer of Gettig Technologies Inc., its divisions, Gettig Engineering and Manufacturing Co., and Gettig Pharmaceutical Co., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Stelrema Corp., Beacon Tool Corp., and GPI Aviation Inc. The World War II veteran has been granted numerous patents throughout his career ranging from electromechanical devices to microprocessor-controlled pharmaceutical assembly equipment, including hypodermic syringe and injector techniques.
Cooper-White is former executive assistant to the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and director of the ELCA Department for Synodical Relations. He has also served as interim executive director of the Northern California Ecumenical Council and director of the San Francisco Bay Area Urban Coalition.
SU Habitat for Humanity Seeks Construction Funds
The newly re-founded Susquehanna chapter of Habitat for Humanity has launched a $20,000 fundraising program to underwrite costs of a local Habitat house funded and built entirely by the extended Susquehanna University community.
The group is inviting students, faculty, staff, campus clubs and organizations, and university alumni to assist in the financing and eventual construction of a house that will be built in cooperation with the Union-Snyder County chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
Cathleen Jones '04, president of the campus chapter, says the group hopes to sponsor one fundraiser a month to raise the $20,000 start-up fee. To date, the group has raised about $2,500 from a variety of projects including a Lego model Habitat house construction contest at 2002 Homecoming, a recent Penny War, and a spring weekend Campus Campout, renting camping plots on the field hockey field.
Assistant Professor of English Drew Hubbell is campus advisor for the campus chapter, which is affiliated with Chapel Council and plans to seek SGA recognition.
Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian organization that brings families in need together with volunteers to build decent, affordable housing. Since 1976 the organization has built more than 125,000 houses in 80 countries, including 45,000 in the United States.
Habitat houses are sold at no profit with no-interest mortgages to make them affordable to low-income families worldwide. Homeowners and volunteers build the houses under trained supervision with individuals, corporations, faith groups and others providing financial support.
The campus Habitat project will fund and build a house near the Selinsgrove Speedway in the Wedgewood Gardens housing development, site of a previous house built by the Union-Snyder Habitat chapter. Once the ground is broken, there will be the opportunity for anyone interested to put in a Saturday toward building the house.
"We want to notify as many members of the SU community as possible, and ask people with an interest in helping out in some way to respond," says Jones.
The campus group currently has 20 active members who have assisted in construction of other Habitat houses in nearby Sunbury in the past year.
For further information, please contact the chapter at habitat@susqu.edu.
Susquehanna Sets 2003-04 Tuition and Fees
The university's board of directors has approved an increase in tuition and fees for the 2003-04 academic year.
Comprehensive fees for next year - which include tuition and fees, room and board - will total $29,990. The $1,490 increase is 5.2 percent of current fees.
"Susquehanna's board and administration worked hard to balance the resources needed to provide a high quality education with the pressure that fees can place on students and their families," said university president L. Jay Lemons. "In the coming year we will invest significantly more in information technology enhancements, including additional smart classrooms and network improvements. We will continue our efforts to offer competitive wages to attract and retain the most qualified faculty and staff, and to cover the university's share of increasing health insurance costs. We will also continue our commitment to a financial aid program that is sensitive to the needs of students and families."
Susquehanna's increase in fees for the 2003-04 academic year is comparable to that of many other colleges and universities.
Independent 529 Plan Gains IRS Approval
Susquehanna a Member
