May 4, 2023 2 min read

PennWest California will hold spring commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday in the Convocation Center.

The ceremony also will be live-streamed.

Ceremonies at PennWest University’s campuses in Edinboro and Clarion will be held the same day.

“Commencement symbolizes both an end and a new beginning,” said Dr. R. Lorraine Bernotsky, acting president of PennWest. “The hard work and commitment that fueled their success on our campuses will propel them forward throughout the next steps of their personal and professional journeys.”

Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Brenda Fredette will confer degrees upon more than 1,000 graduates at the two ceremonies on the California campus.

Undergraduate and graduate students from the colleges of Arts & Humanities; Business, Communication & Information Science; and Social Science and Human Services will participate in the 10 a.m. ceremony. The afternoon ceremonies will include students from the colleges of Education; Health Sciences; and Natural Science & Engineering Technology.

In addition to remarks by university, trustee and alumni representatives, two graduates who have showcased a commitment to campus life and community service will address fellow members of the Class of 2023.

PennWest student Alyssa Lambert-Alonso of Uniontown, who will earn dual degrees in criminal justice and psychology, will provide the student address at the 10 a.m. ceremony.

Kristen Hartz of Perryopolis will present the student address during the afternoon ceremony. Hartz will earn a degree in mathematics with a statistics concentration and minors in computer science and finance.

During the 2 p.m. ceremony, alumna Gail Artyth George Lese ’61, ’83, will be recognized for her dedication to PennWest California – and her legacy of service to the university community – with a posthumous honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

Lese was a math teacher in Bentleyville before she and her husband, Alexander, opened a dental practice in Bethel Park in 1977.

Lese served as a university trustee for more than 14 years, chairing the fundraising drive in 1985 that represented the funding basis for the formation of California University of Pennsylvania.