Graduation Celebration

G. Reynolds Clark (left), Pitt vice chancellor for community initiatives and chief of staff in the Office of the Chancellor; David Shapira (right), president and CEO of Giant Eagle Corporation; Kathy Humphrey, Pitt vice chancellor for student affairs; and Patricia Beeson, Pitt vice provost for graduate and undergraduate studies, spoke at an April 27 nighttime graduation celebration that was held for students who were unable to attend Pitt Commencement because it fell on the final day of Passover. Clark introduced Shapira, a friend and benefactor of the University who delivered the keynote address to the approximately 150 participating in the celebration, including some 25 graduating seniors; Shapira’s sister, Edith Laura Shapira, had earned her MD degree at Pitt’s School of Medicine in 1980. Also speaking at the celebration were two graduating Pitt seniors—Cara Baldari and one of the event organizers, Sharone Pasternak—as well as Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh executive director Aaron Weil and Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Temple Rodef Shalom. The event took place in the Lower Lounge of the William Pitt Union and was sponsored by Pitt’s Office of Student Affairs and the Hillel JUC.