![President Todd Pfannestiel poses with Jeremy Thurston chairperson Board of Trustees [left] and former chairperson Robert Brvenik [right] after accepting the university's institutional charter.](https://uticatangerine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/unnamed.jpeg)
Commencement speakers for both graduate and undergraduate ceremonies were announced on Thursday, April 11 by Utica University administration.
Dr. Amanda Saravia-Butler, a 2009 Utica graduate and GeneLab Project Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in California, will be the undergraduate commencement speaker on Thursday, May 9.
Born and raised in New York, Saravia-Butler has a Ph.D in biochemistry and molecular biology with a concentration in cancer biology from Mayo Clinic and worked as postdoctoral associate the University of Miami while studying germ line development.
According to Amy Lindner, vice president for advancement and chief grants officer, Saravia-Butler is an example of a highly-accomplished Pioneer who earned three bachelor’s degrees at Utica: biology, chemistry and mathematics.
“[She] is a Utica-native who holds three degrees from Utica University,” Lindner said. “She is now an award-winning lead scientist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.”
The graduate commencement speaker will be Dr. Tennille Haynes, also a 2009 alumna of Utica with a graduate degree in education. She currently works as the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at Princeton University.
Photo courtesy of Utica University.
Haynes also holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stony Brook University and a doctorate from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education.
Undergraduate commencement will be held May 9 at 5 p.m. and graduate commencement will be the following day, May 10, at 10 a.m.
