WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY TO HOLD COMMENCEMENT ON MAY 18
—Clark Terry, renowned jazz trumpet player, to receive honorary degree
— Rod Daniels ‘75, anchor for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, and Toni Fiore ’76, chief nursing officer at
Hackensack University Medical Center, to receive President’s Medal

William Paterson University in Wayne will hold its 179th commencement on Tuesday, May 18, 2004. For the first time in University history, separate ceremonies will be held for undergraduate and graduate students. The commencement ceremony for undergraduate students will begin at 10:30 a.m., and will be held on Wightman Field; the rain date is May 19. The graduate ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in the Rec Center, rain or shine.

A total of 1,011 students are scheduled to receive degrees. Bachelor’s degrees will be conferred upon 832 undergraduates; 179 students will receive master’s degrees. All graduates will have completed their degree requirements as of May, 2004.

At the undergraduate ceremony, Clark Terry, the renowned jazz trumpeter, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Rod Daniels, an anchor for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and a 1975 graduate of William Paterson, will receive the President’s Medal.

President Arnold Speert will address the graduating class along with Daracell Medley of Paterson, senior class president, who will deliver the statement for the Class of 2004.

At the graduate ceremony, Toni Fiore, executive vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer for Hackensack University Medical Center and a 1976 graduate of William Paterson, will receive the President’s Medal. President Speert will address the graduates, along with Ian G. Bouie of Plainfield, president of the Graduate Student Organization at William Paterson.

Alumni from the class of 1954, who graduated when William Paterson was called New Jersey State Teachers College at Paterson, will be present at the morning ceremony and attend a 50th reunion luncheon sponsored by the Alumni Relations Office. The Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Chapter will host a Senior Send-Off reception on Monday, May 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the University’s 1600 Valley Road building.

Graduates will be recognized by college and will proceed to the platform to be congratulated by their college dean. Receptions for students, faculty and guests will be held following each ceremony.

Clark Terry is a long-time jazz educator who will be an artist-in-residence during the University’s 11th Annual Jazz improvisation Workshop for high school and college students in July. His years with Count Basie and Duke Ellington in the late 1940s and 1950s established him as a world-class jazz artist. Blending the St. Louis tone of his youth with contemporary styles, Terry’s sound influenced a generation, including Miles Davis. Also a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, Terry was a standout in the NBC-TV Orchestra for 12 years before he left to form his own bands and continue recording. Terry was inducted into the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Hall of Fame in 1991.

Rod Daniels is the longest continuing anchor in the Baltimore television news market. He began his career as a weekend sports anchor at WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina. He later moved to WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh as a weekend anchor and reporter, and to WISN-TV in Milwaukee. Daniels joined WBAL-TV 11 in 1984 and has become an integral part of the Baltimore community. He spends many hours speaking to school groups and hosting community events. He won the Catholic Archdiocese Medal of Honor for Communications for his coverage of church activities. During Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Baltimore, Daniels served as host of the celebration at Camden Yards. He graduated from William Paterson University in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications.

Fiore is part of Hackensack University Medical Center’s top executive team. She has participated in the development and implementation of several successful new programs, including a dialysis expansion and the establishment of its Center for Reproductive Medicine, Bone Marrow Transplant Program, and Osteoporosis Center. She also directed the efforts of the center through the application process and site survey that resulted in the medical center receiving the four-year Magnet Hospital Recognition Award for Excellence in Nursing Services in 1995, 1999 and 2003. She has received numerous awards including the Association of Healthcare Executives of New Jersey Distinguished Service Award in 2001; the New Jersey State Nurses Association “Diva Award” in 2000; the Governor’s Nursing Merit Award for Nurse Administrator in 2000, and the William Paterson University Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. Fiore earned an R.N. from Jersey City Hospital School of Nursing, a bachelor of science in nursing from William Paterson University in 1976, and a master’s degree in nursing administration from New York University in 1982.

William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university enrolls nearly 11,000 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 358 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program (25 scholars), the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

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For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966

4/15/04