President Gempesaw Delivers Commencement Address at Penn State

Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw, Ph.D., President of St. John’s University, recently served as commencement speaker at the Pennsylvania State University’s Graduate School Commencement held on August 12, 2017.

Dr. Gempesaw was introduced by the President of Penn State University, Eric J. Barron, Ph.D.  Dr. Barron noted in his remarks that Dr. Gempesaw is widely respected as an accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator with over three decades of academic and administrative experience. “One of today’s most outstanding leaders within higher education, Dr. Gempesaw is now serving as the 17th president of St. John’s University in New York City.” He also noted that Dr. Gempesaw received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Penn State in 1985 and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Penn State Graduate School Alumni Society in March 2017.

Dr. Gempesaw addressed more than 1,000 graduates and their families, as well as faculty, administrators, members of the Board of Trustees, and senior leaders of the university. He expressed how deeply grateful he is to Penn State for giving him the privilege of carrying its name and institutional pride wherever he goes. “As you progress in your own careers, I know that you will also carry that same pride as a Penn State graduate.”

He closed with parting words for the graduates, “Be humble, work hard, be grateful and I can guarantee, you will go far.”