Policy Center director to address graduates

'Giving Praise, Giving Thanks, Giving Back' will be the speaker's address.
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- John N. Gardner, founder and executive director of The Policy Center on the First Year of College, will serve as the keynote speaker at Thiel College's spring commencement at 2 p.m. May 7.
Gardner and two alumni, the Rev. Martin M. Roth (class of '66), pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenville, and William Slater II (class of '80), president and owner of William Slater & amp; Sons Inc. funeral homes, will be awarded honorary degrees during the ceremony.
Gardner, best known as the initiator of the international reform movement in higher education to which he has coined "The Freshman Year Experience," will provide the address "Giving Praise, Giving Thanks, Giving Back."
Under Gardner's leadership, The Policy Center on the First Year of College has as its basic mission the improvement of the first college year through enhanced learning outcomes and the success of first-year students.
Gardner will be awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree during the ceremony.
Roth
The Rev. Mr. Roth, pastor of Holy Trinity since 1986, earned master of divinity and master of sacred theology degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is co-founder of the concert series Friends of Music at Holy Trinity.
He is a member of the Thiel College Board of Trustees and its Instruction Committee, the UPMC Horizon Board and its Joint Commission and Medical Ethics and Hospital Chaplaincy Advisory committees. He is co-founder of the Community Medical Ethics Project and is a founding member of Greenville's Good Shepherd Center.
Mr. Roth will receive an honorary doctor of divinity degree.
Slater
Slater, whose company operates eight funeral homes in the Pittsburgh area, is a graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He is active in community affairs and a member of several civic organizations, including the Greentree Rotary Club.
A Mason, Slater is the youngest grand master in 100 years to serve the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He became a 33rd-degree Mason in 2002.
Slater will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree.