C.W. Post to Graduate 100,000th Alumnus at
50th Commencement Exercises, Mother’s Day, May 11
Real Estate Developer Jorge M. Pérez, Class of '72, to Address Graduates;
Valedictorian Maria Michta will miss ceremony to travel to Russia for World Race Walking Cup

Brookville, N.Y. - Milestones will mingle with established and perhaps even new traditions on Mother's Day, Sunday May 11, 2008 as the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University celebrates its 50th commencement ceremony.

The always poignant event will honor C.W. Post's 100,000th graduate and the final graduating students from Long Island University's Southampton Campus, as well as, for the first time in school history, a pair of salutatorians.

Long Island University President David J. Steinberg will confer more than 2,500 bachelor's, master's and associate degrees, doctorates and certificates at this year's ceremony.

Some highlights:

18,250 Days Later, We've Reached a Milestone! This year, C.W. Post will award its 100,000th degree since its first commencement ceremony in 1958 when eight students graduated. Campus officials estimate that the 100,000 students read more than seven million books and were taught nearly 40,000 courses by hundreds of faculty members over the course of 18,250 days.

The landmark alumnae, Kevin Wilson, a resident of Selden, N.Y., earned a Master of Public Administration degree in health care administration from the College of Management in January 2008 and will walk at the commencement exercises. The annual ceremony includes all C.W. Post students who were conferred degrees in September 2007, January 2008 and May 2008. Wilson is a dialysis social worker/supervisor at Central Suffolk Artificial Kidney Center in Port Jefferson, N.Y. He is married with two young children, holds a second master's degree in social work from Fordham University and is an adjunct professor at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.

A Golden Anniversary: Seven men and one woman, all transfer students, were the first to receive degrees from what was then called C.W. Post College of Long Island University on June 7, 1958. The ceremony took place in the Rose Garden. Professor Newton Meiselman had to scramble the evening before to get an American flag for the podium. Guest speakers included William Zeckendorf, chairman of the University Board of Trustees, and Admiral Richard Conolly, president of C.W. Post College. The commencement address, “A Time of Personal Inventory,” was delivered by Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus of Columbia University.

Career Builder: C.W. Post alumnus Jorge M. Pérez , named one of 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States by TIME magazine, will be awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters and will deliver the keynote address.

One of the country's premier real estate developers, Perez is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States and Florida's leading builder of condominiums. Since its inception in 1979, The Related Group has built and/or managed more than 70,000 apartments and condominium residences, and the company's current portfolio represents assets under development of more than $10.7 billion.

Pérez began his career working on affordable housing initiatives in Miami . While he has gone on to high-profile success in the real estate industry, making his mark in luxury and mixed-use markets, he has never lost sight of his mission to create communities that improve the quality of life of their inhabitants. As founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, Pérez has transformed skylines from Miami and Atlanta to the Caribbean and Las Vegas, enhancing countless lives in the process.

A Sweet Farewell: This ceremony will graduate the last class from Southampton College of Long Island University , with 24 students completing their bachelor's degrees in the Southampton curriculum. In 2005, the baccalaureate programs were moved to the C.W. Post Campus. The valedictorian is Erin Wylie of Hauppauge, N.Y. who is earning a bachelor of science in interdisciplinary psychology biology. Serving as volunteer and eventually an intern at the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in Smithtown, N.Y. since 2001, Wylie said she would like to work with a service dog organization, helping train dogs who aid the physically handicapped.

Out in Front: Most students see graduation as a finish line, none more so than Maria Michta. But the valedictorian of the Class of 2008 won't be walking across the stage with her classmates during commencement exercises. Instead, the Nesconset, N.Y. resident will be in the city of Cheboksary in the Chuvash Republic, Russia, competing as part of the five-member U.S. team in the 23rd World Race Walking Cup. Michta, who qualified for the World Cup at the World Cup Trials held in Oregon at the end of March, also is an Olympic hopeful. In May 2007 she qualified for the Olympic Trials that will be held in Oregon this July. Last June, she set a personal best in the 20K race walk at the 2007 USATF Nationals with a time of 1:41:27.23.

The biology major has a flawless 4.0 grade point average and will attend Mount Sinai School of Medicine to earn her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences with concentration in microbiology.

Double the Honor: For the first time in the campus' history two salutatorians have been named. The honor will be shared by Ambar Arancibia Dieterich, 21, a resident of Westbury, N.Y. and an honors student majoring in fine arts and design with a minor in philosophy, and Bailey Stark, 21, a resident of Salamanca, N.Y. and an honors student majoring in arts management.

Honorary Doctorates: As part of the main ceremony, honorary doctorates will be awarded to Jorge M. Pérez as well as Pulitzer Prize winner John F. Burns, the longest-serving New York Times foreign correspondent and the newspaper's London Bureau Chief, and Joseph Shenker, the well-respected provost of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University who is retiring this summer.

Distinguished Alumni Award: In recognition of his highly successful career, Peter Gibson '82, co-president and co-founder of BusinessEdge a successful business and technology consulting firm focused on the communications, media and content, financial services and life sciences industries, will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award. These awards are presented to C.W. Post graduates who have achieved professional success and who serve as role models to students.

Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Service: Commencement 2008 will include the presentation of the Long Island University Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Service. This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to campuses of Long Island University. This highly-coveted honor will be presented to Alexander “Lex” Dashnaw, the longtime professor of music and director of choral activities who made certain that the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University always had and will continue to have a song in its soul. This is only the fourth time this award has been given.

Teacher of the Year The Nassau County Secondary School Teacher of the Year Award, which recognizes exemplary teaching, will be awarded to Lori Cohen, a high school English teacher at J.W. Dodd Middle School in the Freeport School District.

Commencement exercises will take place on the Great Lawn at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y. beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 11. The Class of 2008 includes 1,022 baccalaureate degree candidates, 1,434 master's degree candidates, 15 graduates receiving the Psy.D. in clinical psychology and 4 receiving the Ph.D. in information studies. C.W. Post's commencement ceremonies also include graduates from the Brentwood Campus, Southampton College, Southampton Graduate Campus and Long Island University at Riverhead. For more information call the C.W. Post Commencement Hotline at 516-299-3242 or visit www.liu.edu/cwpcommencement.

Posted: May 9, 2008