PURDUE PRESIDENT HEADS LIST OF DEGREE RECIPIENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH'S 1998 COMMENCEMENT

PITTSBURGH, April 23 -- For most people, getting the third degree is

not something they would anticipate with pleasure. But Dr. Steven C. Beering, president of Purdue University, is looking forward to his third degree -- an honorary Doctor of Science degree which will be conferred on him at the University of Pittsburgh's 1998 Commencement this Sunday, April 26. This latest Pitt degree will be the third for Beering, who received both his BS and MD degrees from the University.

Beering will be joined in receiving a degree by the more than 2,000 students who are expected to attend and receive their undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees at the 2 p.m. ceremony in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

The ceremony will open with a procession of the faculty and graduates in full academic regalia, followed by welcoming remarks from Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.

After receiving his honorary degree, Beering will deliver the commencement address on the topic of "Life's Punctuation Marks." The immediate past national chairman of the Association of American Universities, Beering is also a former chairman of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Before becoming president of Purdue in 1983, he served for a decade as dean and director of the Indiana University Medical Center. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Royal Society of Medicine. In 1996, he was named a University of Pittsburgh Distinguished Alumni Fellow.

Lea A. Shafer, a graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences, will deliver remarks on behalf of the graduates, and Cynthia Roth, president-elect of the Pitt Alumni Association, will welcome the new graduates into the ranks of the alumni.

In all, Pitt is conferring more than 5,800 degrees this year to students at the main campus in Oakland and an additional 800 degrees to students at the four regional campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville. The four regional campuses will hold their own commencement ceremonies.

Total attendance at the Civic Arena ceremony, including faculty, graduates, family and friends is expected to be approximately 10,000 people.

-30-