May 21, 2006

• Providence College's 88th Commencement Exercises are the first presided over by Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., and Ph.D., who took office as PC's 12th president on July 1, 2005.
• Providence College will award degrees to approximately 839 undergraduate day school students, 76 students in the School of Continuing Education, and 209 students in the Graduate Studies Program.
• One undergraduate day school student -- Dayle Parnell-Lampen -- who earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in biology and chemistry, will be recognized for completing her studies with the highest overall grade point average. A resident of Douglas, Massachusetts, Dayle plans to attend the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
• The student graduating with the top grade point average from the School of Continuing Education is Cranston, RI resident Thomas A. Miller. After a life-long career in the printing industry he has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies and will take a new human services position with the House of Hope, an advocacy organization for the homeless.
• This year's oldest graduate is Warren resident H. Richard McSoley, who at age 78 has earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology. He previously earned an undergraduate degree from PC in 1952.
• John O'Hurley, the actor and entrepreneur who will deliver the 2006 commencement address, graduated from PC 30 years ago as a member of the Class of 1976 -- the first class to graduate in what was then Providence's new Civic Center and today is the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
• O'Hurley comes from a proud PC family. His father, Dr. John G. O'Hurley, a retired physician, graduated from Providence College in 1948. So did his brother Neal T. O'Hurley, a member of the PC class of 1979, and Neal's wife, Christine (Lynch), also a 1979 graduate. All three will march with the alumni/ae contingent in the commencement procession.
• Among the highest achieving graduates are these Rhode Island residents who will pursue further education or employment in fields as diverse as medicine, music, criminal justice and economics:
  • Cheryl Bline of Pawtucket, earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with Summa Cum Laude honors; will attend Brown Medical School
  • William Champagne of Woonsocket, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music with Cum Laude honors; will attend New York University's Steinhardt School of Education to pursue a master's degree in music composition
  • Raymond Concannon of Warwick, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology; will attend Suffolk University to pursue a master's degree in criminal justice
  • Lindsay Gebhart of Cranston, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work with Magna Cum Laude honors; has accepted a position as a family advocate for the Head Start Program at the Cranston Child Development Center
  • Lindsey Muldoon of Jamestown, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics with Cum Laude honors; has accepted a position as a consultant with FactSet Research Systems Inc., a leading provider of global financial and economic information to the investment community.
• For a sample of the wide range of educational and employment opportunities members of the class of 2006 will be pursuing, please refer to the final pages of the Commencement Exercises program.

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