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College of Engineering

College of Engineering Salutes Class of '08

Gary A. Gabriele, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Engineering, presents the prestigious Robert D. Lynch Award to senior Angela Lynn Russo (CEE).

As part of Commencement Weekend 2008, the College of Engineering paid tribute to its 241 undergraduate and graduate students at a Recognition Ceremony on Mendel Field on Saturday, May 17, at 2:30 p.m.

Led by bagpipers and a color guard and dressed in academic attire, students, faculty, and administrators processed to a large tent, where family members and friends awaited them. During the ceremony, students were called to the stage, where Dean Gary Gabriele, Ph.D., presented them with a College of Engineering diploma cover. In addition, the following students received special distinction:

  • Angela Lynn Russo received the Engineering Alumni Society’s prestigious Robert D. Lynch Award for academic achievement and dedication to community service, as well as the Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Award
  • Christopher M. Furcht was presented with the Robert E. White Chemical Engineering Award
  • Dustin J. Getz was given the Computer Engineering Outstanding Student Award
  • Haig S. Norian received the Electrical Engineering Outstanding Student Award
  • Regina M. Ondrejco was presented with the Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Student Award
  • Jevon M. Avis received the Graduate Student Research Excellence Award
Ronald A. Chadderton, Ph.D., Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering, congratulates Clay Emerson after the student’s Doctor of Philosophy hooding.

A highlight of the ceremony was the hooding of doctoral student Clay Emerson, whose dissertation was titled Evaluation of Infiltration Practices as a Means to Control Stormwater Runoff.

In his commencement address, senior Mark Howell (ME) reflected on how the Villanova experience should direct students’ lives: “Villanova isn’t just the education, or the campus, or the professors; it’s the people, the tradition, and the community we form. We are called to go forth and use our experiences to benefit others.”

Beth Hassel, PBVM, Executive Director of Campus Ministry, echoed this theme in the benediction, calling the students “a community of scholars searching for truth in order to create a world of peace.”