WVU Parkersburg December Commencement

WVU Parkersburg's December Commencement to be held Friday, Dec. 15, 2006.

CONTACT: Cecelia Malhotra, registrar, 304-424-8222.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An Academy Award-winning film producer will give the Commencement address Friday (Dec. 15) at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Parkersburg native Pamela Tanner Boll will address the graduates at the 7 p.m. exercises to be held in the multi-purpose room of the College Activities Center. Her presentation is entitled "From here to Tomorrow -- What does it take?" During the ceremony, WVU Parkersburg will award Mrs. Boll an honorary Bachelor of Arts degree for her local, national and international contributions to the arts.

Approximately 233 students are candidates for graduation. Close to 90 are expected to take part in the ceremonies and will receive 115 certificates and degrees. They represent August and December graduates.

Ron Atkinson, chair of the Social Sciences Division and senior faculty member, will serve as grand marshal. Faculty members Carl Smith and Tina Buchanan will assist as marshals. The graduating class will be presented by Joseph Badgley, executive dean of academic affairs. WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage will confer the graduates certificates and degrees.

A reception for the graduates and their families will follow in the cafeteria concourse.

Mrs. Boll is a graduate of Parkersburg High School and a former student at Parkersburg Community College. She received her undergraduate degree in English literature from Middlebury College in Vermont. A philanthropist and widely exhibited painter, she has also taught courses part-time at Harvard University.

She became involved in the critically-acclaimed documentary "Born Into Brothels" as a sponsor and through various aspects of the films development and production. She served as co-executive producer of the film which has won numerous awards, including the 2004 Academy Award for best documentary feature and the LA Film Critics Associations best documentary award. The film chronicles time spent by two filmmakers in Sonagchi, Calcutta and their relationships with children of prostitutes.

Mrs. Boll has been very supportive of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s local arts, and the Parkersburg Art Center in particular, in memory of her mother’s contributions to the center.

cd12/12/2006

For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
(304-424-8203)