Outgoing President Loyack to provide final commencement speeches
Longstanding educator, transformational leader, former Alvernia University trustee and Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Dr. Khalid D. Mumin and Alvernia’s seventh President John R. Loyack will receive Honorary Degrees of Humane Letters alongside the graduating classes of 2023 in two separate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13, at the Alvernia University Stadium. Loyack will provide his final commencement speeches as the university president at both ceremonies.
“Dr. Mumin has a proven track record of professional leadership and civic engagement in the Greater Reading community and the education industry and has played an instrumental role in the Reading CollegeTowne initiative during his time as a trustee," said Loyack. “I am honored to receive an honorary degree alongside him as I join the Alvernia University community in celebrating the Class of 2023. Alvernia will always hold a special place in my heart, and I thank our students, faculty, staff, alumni, partners, trustees, parents and friends of Alvernia for the privilege of serving them over the last four years.”
Loyack will receive his honorary degree at the ceremony for graduates in the College of Health Sciences and the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics at 10:00 a.m.
“It is an honor to present President Loyack and Dr. Mumin with honorary degrees as they have both been dedicated to serving and advocating for the Alvernia, Reading, and Greater Berks County communities,” said President-Elect Dr. Glynis A. Fitzgerald. “I look forward to the wisdom that President Loyack will share with our graduates and to celebrating with the entire Class of 2023 in this pivotal milestone.”
Dr. Mumin will receive his honorary degree at the ceremony for graduates in the College of Business, Communication, and Leadership and the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences at 2:30 p.m.
A Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2023 will be held Friday, May 12. More information regarding Alvernia University’s commencement ceremonies can be found here.
About Mumin
For the last 26 years, Mumin has served in various capacities as a teacher, dean of students, principal, central administrator and now the PA Secretary of Education. As Reading School District's Superintendent, he has been instrumental in the growth of Alvernia University's Reading Collegiate Scholars College Readiness Program at Reading High School. His continued transformational leadership earned him the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators' 2021 Superintendent of the Year Award.
Mumin also serves as an adjunct professor for Shippensburg University and Penn State University and has served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, Greater Reading Economic Partnership, United Way of Berks County, Berks Arts Council, YMCA of Berks County and Berks Community Action Program.
About Loyack
After becoming the university’s seventh president in July 2019, Loyack led a successful effort to restructure the university, develop and implement a five-year, student-centric, strategic plan and attract three of the largest consecutive classes in Alvernia’s history.
President Loyack’s vision for the university’s CollegeTowne initiatives has led the way in the expansion of the university in center-city Reading and Pottsville to create new academic programs and student living opportunities while also creating new community programming, expanding experiential learning for students and sparking economic redevelopment and new business creation in the city.
