At a glance
Nearly 600 two- and four-year graduates, their families, professors, and friends will be on hand McLane Center on neighboring Alfred University campus. Graduates will need to use the tickets in their graduation packets for their families’ admission.
Nearly 600 two- and four-year graduates, their families, professors, and friends will be on hand McLane Center on neighboring Alfred University campus. Graduates will need to use the tickets in their graduation packets for their families’ admission.
Presiding over the ceremony will be Dr. John M. Anderson, college president.
Keynote speaker for the ceremony will be State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees Chairman Carl T. Hayden.
Hayden was appointed chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees Oct. 22, 2007. As chairman, Hayden oversees SUNY’s governing body, comprised of 17 members, 15 of whom are appointed by the governor, by and with consent of the NYS Senate.
Some of the many responsibilities of the Board include appointing and approving University leadership including the Chancellor, senior system staff, and campus presidents; regulating the tuition and fees charged by our campuses; and granting the thousands of degrees, diplomas, certificates, and honorary degrees that SUNY issues each year.
Prior to being appointed to the SUNY Board of Trustees, Hayden served on the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York (USNY) having been elected in 1990, and elected chancellor by his colleagues in 1995; he was re-elected to that office in 1998, and again in 2001. He stepped down in April 2002, after 12 years of service; he was thereupon voted chancellor emeritus by his colleagues.
During Hayden’s tenure as chancellor, the Board of Regents raised standards for students, for schools, for entry into the teaching profession, and for teacher preparation programs. He left a reinvigorated and markedly more influential Board of Regents.
Hayden is a former president of the Elmira City School District Board of Education and a past chair or president of numerous community organizations. He was a founder, and for six years president, of the Mark Twain Arts Council. He is also a director of Panelogic, Inc., a private corporation.
Hayden graduated from Hamilton College where he was president of his fraternity. In 1970, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Cornell Law School where he was president of the Law Student Association.
Hayden served in the U.S. Navy, as a gunnery officer aboard USS Boston, a heavy cruiser, and a legal officer at the US Naval Station, Treasure Island, San Francisco.
Hayden has been awarded honorary degrees by his alma mater, Hamilton College (1996), Elmira College (1999), the City University of New York (2002), and Excelsior College (2003). He is an honorary member of the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois.
The 2011 student speaker will be Tara Yohe.
Yohe, who already holds an bachelor’s degree in construction management engineering technology.
A dean’s list student, Tara has spent time using her education working summers for the NYS Department of Transportation in Buffalo, and at Dresser, Inc., in Bradford. Additionally, Tara and her teammates placed second in an Associated Schools of Construction Region I competition, was named Outstanding Drafting Student, and earned a Pennsylvania Skills Certificate as a result of her score on a skills test measuring knowledge and performance skills in general drafting and design.
Giving the welcome from students will be AJ LaMere, ’10, ’12, Rochester, chair, Peet Hall, is a member of the Alfred Community Coalition, and the Beautification Initiative, and is an honorary member of Business Professionals of America. He is the son of Mechell and Alfred LaMere, Rochester.
In celebration of the college’s 100th commencement ceremony, Alfred State will welcome recording artists Red Molly, a female singing trio which began around a campsite at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and is now drawing invitations from renowned historic national events like Merlefest, and is winning over audiences around the country. Members Laurie MacAllister (bass, banjo) and Abbie Gardner (Dobro, guitar) and Molly Venter, create lush, distinctive three-part harmonies.
Additionally, the Gates Keystone Police Pipes and Drums, a ceremonial police pipe and drum band formed in 1996 by members of the Gates, NY, Police Department, whose purpose is to honor fallen members of the police, fire, EMS, and military communities, will also perform.