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Westminster College Celebrates Commencement May 17

Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2003

More than 325 students are expected to earn diplomas Saturday, May 17, during the 149th annual Westminster College commencement ceremonies.  The 2002-2003 academic year will conclude with a baccalaureate service at 10:30 a.m., and commencement at 2:30 p.m. on the Senior Terrace of Old Main.

Speaking at Baccalaureate is the Rev. Steven Allen, chaplain at Westminster College.  Allen will speak on the "Journey Into and Out of Pain."

Commencement will feature three speakers who were asked to share "words of wisdom" with the graduates after receiving their honorary Doctor of Public Service (D.P.S.) degrees.

Offering the first remarks, "Waving the Flags," will be J. Fred Rentz, retired president of The News Co., and former member of the Westminster College Board of Trustees for 27 years.  Currently a trustee emeritus, Rentz was a bomber pilot in World Ward II, completed 30 missions including one on D-Day, received the Distinguished Flying Cross, and four Air Medals.  After his military career, Rentz married and furthered his education, receiving an electrical engineering degree from Carnegie Tech and a master's from Caltech.  In 1954, he changed careers taking over the production of the New Castle News with his brother, where he stayed until his retirement in 1988 when the paper was sold.

Rentz is active in the Presbyterian Church, serving as an elder and teacher of adult church school, and numerous community agencies and philanthropic groups have benefited from his involvement.  He continues to receive accolades and awards in recognition of his service to society including a "Patron of the Arts" award in 1991, the "Humanitarian of the Year" award in 1992, and the Jack Butz Humanitarian Award in 2002.

William E. Strickland, Jr., president and CEO of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation and the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, will offer the next words.  Strickland, who is a Pittsburgh native, will speak on "Community Responsibilities."  During his last year at the University of Pittsburgh, he started the Manchester Guild in the North Side of Pittsburgh.  Every year hundreds of high school students and older adults are transformed through the arts and a broad array of other experiences from the cutting edge medical technology to graphics and large-scale productions of orchids and tomatoes.  Former President Bush and former First Lady Hillary Clinton have visited the Guild.

Strickland has served as the chair of the Expansion Arts Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts; served a six-year Presidential appointment as a council member to the NEA; and served as a consultant with the British/American Arts Association in London, England.  He received the MacArthur "Genius" Award in 1996, the Kilby Award and the Coming Up Taller Award in 1998, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Arts Leadership and Service Award in 1999.

The class of 2003 will also hear "words of wisdom" from S. Donald Wiley, retired senior vice president and general counsel of H.J. Heinz Co. and former member and chair of the Westminster College Board of Trustees.  Currently a trustee emeritus, Wiley will ask the seniors "What now?"  After his graduation from Westminster College, Wiley's "What now?" took him to the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and then to the Assistant District Attorney's Office of Allegheny County.  After a successful 12 years, Wiley moved into a small legal department at H.J. Heinz Co., where successes took him to management and administrative responsibilities.  Various acquisitions and antitrust litigations took him to places such as Zimbabwe, Korea, Italy, Venezuela and the People's Republic of China, where he learned legal and cultural differences.

Wiley has served on the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the Board of Directors of QED Communications, Board of Trustees for the Shadyside Hospital, the Board of Directors for the Lehman Brothers Institutional Funds Group Trust, the National Board of Governors of the Red Cross, the Board of Trustees of the H.J. Heinz Foundation, and Board of Trustees for the Vira I. Heinz Endowment.

The Class of 2003 will receive special remarks from Dr. Walter E. Scheid, professor emeritus of speech at Westminster College, who also gave them opening remarks when they first entered Westminster in 1999.

In case of rain, ceremonies will be held at the Memorial Field House.  For more information, contact the Academic Dean's Office at (724) 946-7122.