EMINENT ALUMNI TO ADDRESS WINTER GRADUATES

Posted on November 29, 2010

Two distinguished alumni — one an expert in education, the other in health care finances — will address graduating students and their guests during winter Commencement ceremonies at California University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Saundra Kiski Stout will deliver the Commencement address to master’s degree candidates at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 in Hamer Hall auditorium, on the campus in California, Pa.

Armand Balsano will speak to undergraduates at 10 a.m. Dec. 18, also in Hamer Hall.

Stout earned a bachelor’s degree from Cal U in 1972 and a master’s degree and reading specialist certificate in 1974. After completing her doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh, she taught in Upper St. Clair, worked as a reading specialist in Central Greene School District, and served as director of elementary education and federal programs in Highlands School District, Natrona Heights, where she established the first public kindergarten for 4-year-olds in Allegheny County. After serving as acting superintendent of the Keystone Oaks School District, Stout retired from public education but continued to share her expertise as an educational consultant for the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Read Dr. Stout's expanded biography. 

Balsano graduated from Cal U in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, then earned a master’s degree in health administration from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. A financial expert now based in Atlanta, he has worked with acute care and long-term care facilities, performing evaluations of strategic and financial feasibility and planning for specialty services such as rehabilitation, mental health, cardiology and home health. He frequently helps clients to evaluate the financial feasibility of new projects and the financial impact of strategic initiatives. In addition, Balsano is qualified in many states as an expert witness in health-care planning and financial feasibility. Read Balsano's explanded biography.

At the winter Commencement ceremonies, Cal U will award degrees to more than 700 graduate students and 625 undergraduates who completed their studies in August or December 2010.