Millersville University held its 170th commencement ceremony at the Winter Center, where university leaders conferred master’s and baccalaureate degrees on candidates recommended by faculty and urged graduates to pursue excellence and civic engagement.

University President Daniel A. Wubah presided over the conferral of degrees and told graduates to carry forward a commitment to continual growth. “Feel the energy in the air. Thick with accomplishments and brimming with possibilities,” Wubah said, adding that “excellence isn’t simply about achieving a perfect grade point average.”

The ceremony included a keynote address by Dr. Melvin R. Allen, a longtime Millersville alumnus, faculty member and administrator. Drawing on his six-decade affiliation with the university, Allen reflected on social change, civic responsibility and the importance of listening across differences. He quoted Rodney King’s plea — “Can we all get along?” — as an appeal for empathy and for problem solving in public life. Allen closed by addressing the graduates directly: “Once a marauder, always a marauder.”

Student government president Kevin Herr Hornbaker addressed the class on behalf of the student body and announced the senior class gift, continuing a Millersville tradition of philanthropy dating to 1866; the amount and specific recipients of the gift were not specified during the ceremony. Graduate student Megan E. B. Poff offered reflections on perseverance and the lasting value of education.

The provost, Dr. Gail Gasparich, and deans presented candidates by college before President Wubah declared, “Upon the authority vested in me by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the board of governors and the council of trustees, I confer upon you the appropriate master’s degree” and later conferred baccalaureate degrees. The faculty recommendation and presidential conferral were the formal ceremonial actions recorded during the event.

Ceremony rituals included a land acknowledgment recognizing the indigenous peoples of the Lower Susquehanna River Basin — naming the Conestogas, Susquehannocks, Shawnee and the Shanks Ferry people — recognition of veterans and first responders in attendance, the singing of the national anthem performed by Abigail Weider and the Millersville University Wind Ensemble Brass under conductor Joseph Sernuto, and presentation of academic honors. The provost outlined the thresholds used for honors: University Honors College completion and a 3.35 GPA in honors courses; the university’s highest honor, summa cum laude, was defined as a grade-point average of 3.95 to 4.0.

The ceremony concluded with a call to celebration and the university alma mater. No vote or policy decision was taken; the event’s central formal action was the conferral of degrees as authorized by the commonwealth and the university’s governing bodies.