BIG RAPIDS - Approximately 300 students will participate in Fall Commencement ceremonies at Ferris State University on Saturday, Dec. 16, in Wink Arena. More than 400 students are candidates to receive degrees.
Ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m. for the colleges of Arts, Sciences and Education, and Business; and Ferris-Grand Rapids' Industrial Technology Management, and Digital Animation and Game Design programs. Ceremonies will be held at 1:30 p.m. for the colleges of Allied Health Sciences, Education and Human Services, and Technology. The College of Pharmacy and the Michigan College of Optometry hold commencement exercises in May.
Andrew Kantar from the College of Arts, Sciences and Education will serve as commencement speaker during the 10 a.m. ceremony. Pasquale Di Raddo from the College of Arts, Sciences and Education will serve as commencement speaker during the 1:30 p.m. ceremony.
Kantar, a professor of English, teaches courses in literature and advanced scientific and technical writing. His first book, 29 Missing, on the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, was designated a Notable Book by the state of Michigan. Black November was released this year, and he is currently writing his third book for The Michigan State University Press.
Kantar, whose Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota, has served two years as a senior Fulbright Scholar at the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology and was last year's recipient of the University's Award for Academic Excellence.
Di Raddo, a professor of Chemistry, completed his Ph.D. at McGill University, where he also studied as an undergraduate. In addition, he has worked as a research associate at the University of Chicago's Ben May Institute for Cancer Research. Di Raddo is faculty advisor to the pre-optometry, American Chemical Society and pre-medicine clubs, as well as the Kappa Psi pharmacy fraternity.
He was the 2004 recipient of the Douglas Fonner Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor to the FSU Interfraternity Council and the 2005 Outstanding Registered Student Organization Advisor of the Year. His ACS student chapter received both Green Chemistry Chapter Recognition and Outstanding Chapter Award from the American Chemical Society for 2006-07.
He has recently published poetry on various chemical themes and an article on the use of comics for the teaching of chemistry laboratory safety. He has given campus lectures to Honors students through the Humanities Colloquium and has been involved in undergraduate student research. He is the recipient of the University's 2006 Distinguished Teacher Award.