Penn State Mont Alto will hold its spring 2022 Commencement ceremony at 10 a.m., on Saturday, May 7, in the Multipurpose Activities Center gymnasium on the Mont Alto campus.
The campus will confer 135 degrees during the ceremony — 74 bachelor’s and 61 associate. Additionally, the ceremony will recognize 2020 graduates who were unable to participate in an in-person commencement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details for this year’s ceremony are available on the campus’ Commencement webpage.
Madlyn L. Hanes, senior vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor emerita, will deliver this year’s keynote address. Hanes retired from Penn State in August 2021 after 33 years of service to the University. At the time of her retirement, she served as the senior vice president for Penn State’s 20 Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor. In this role, Hanes provided oversight of academic and administrative programs and operations, including strategic and facilities planning, student recruitment and retention, curriculum development and integration, and the selection of campus chancellors. Hanes was also the budget executive for the Commonwealth Campuses, and she served as dean of the 14 campuses of the University College and the Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies.
“I am honored to be the 2022 commencement speaker at Penn State Mont Alto’s graduation ceremony. Mont Alto is a beautiful and prosperous campus with a rich history and strong ties to the region,” Hanes said. “Commencement is a joyous occasion for students and their loved ones and the truest measure of our success as higher educators. I am thrilled to bring well wishes and words of encouragement to our graduates.”
Hanes joined Penn State in 1988 as the chief academic officer of Penn State Delaware County, now Penn State Brandywine. In 1997, she was named chief executive officer of Penn State Great Valley, the graduate campus of Penn State serving southeastern Pennsylvania, and in 1998, founding head of its School of Graduate Professional Studies. From 2000-2010, Hanes served as chancellor of Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital College.
“I am excited that Dr. Hanes is going to be our commencement speaker. She has had a tremendous impact on Penn State and higher education over the course of her career. I am looking forward to the nuggets of wisdom she’ll be sharing with our students,” Achampong said. “I am also happy to welcome back members of the class of 2020 whose commencement was disrupted by the pandemic.”
Hanes holds a bachelor of arts in English education, a master of arts in speech-language pathology, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, with a specialization in language and literacy development, from the University of Florida. In 2008, the University of Florida honored her with the University Distinguished Alumnus Award. She also holds a certificate of clinical competence in speech-language pathology from the Professional Services Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
She has served as a consultant to ministries of education and boards of higher education in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Israel and Korea, including a special appointment to the University Council of Jamaica by the Prime Minister. Hanes serves on the women’s network executive council (past chair) of the American Council on Education (ACE); and co-chaired the inaugural years of the council’s initiative, Moving the Needle: Advancing Women in Higher Education Administration. She also served on the board of directors and vice-chair of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Honors and awards she’s received include the Athena Award from the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corporation, the Betty Landman Award for Advancement of Women from the Pennsylvania ACE State Network, the Visionary of the Year Award from the Great Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Administrative Excellence Award from Penn State. She is the 2015 recipient of the Donna Shavlik Award for Advancing Women in Higher Education, presented by the American Council on Education.