400 students participate in Stritch’s 75th anniversary commencement

As part of Stritch’s 75th anniversary celebration, the university held two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 20. A graduate ceremony and an undergraduate ceremony both took place at the Frontier Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee.

Stritch's inaugural graduating class included four students; this spring, 670 students received degrees, with 400 students participating in the ceremony.

The speaker for the graduate ceremony was Dr. Molly Shiffler, director of the Urban Literacy Centers in the School of Urban Initiatives at Stritch. She is also a recipient of the 2012 Graduate of the Last Decade Alumni Award for her distinguished accomplishments and service to the community.

Rossella Vasta, renowned artist and founder/director of the Pieve International School in Corciano, Perugia, Italy, received an honorary degree of humane letters at the graduate ceremony for her leadership in promoting Franciscan values and her collaboration with Stritch at Villa Pieve.

Vasta created the international artistic project “The Table of Silence” to convey peace and tolerance worldwide. It lets individuals reflect that we share the same space on Earth and are all invited to the same “table.” In keeping with that metaphor, Vasta has created 100 ceramic dishes. At Stritch, collaboration will occur with Teri Wagner, associate professor of art, who was the first guest artist to create a ceramic dish as an offering for the project.

The speaker for the undergraduate ceremony was Sara Bayer, ’05, ’10. She is the owner of the Bayer Performance Institute, a personal training and fitness company and is a certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Bayer received the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to Stritch for her active volunteer involvement at the University.

Rich Panella, assistant athletic director and former head coach for Stritch women’s basketball for 23 seasons, received an honorary degree of humane letters at the undergraduate ceremony for his work with students and leadership in athletics. Panella was inducted   into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame and the Cardinal Stritch University Athletic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.

View a photo gallery of the spring 2012 commencement ceremonies at the following link:

http://www.stritch.edu/News,_Events_and_Calendar/75th/Spring_Commencement_Ceremonies_May_20,_2012.aspx