Superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools to Speak at Manhattan College’s Spring Commencement

Bernard P. Pierorazio, superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools, will deliver the keynote address at Manhattan College’s Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 18, at 3 p.m. He will also receive an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy.

The Spring Commencement ceremony awards master’s degrees to students graduating from the Schools of Business and Engineering; bachelor’s and master’s degrees to students from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies; and master's degrees and professional diplomas to students from the School of Education and Health.

Pierorazio, the 2011 New York State School Superintendent of the Year, has earned several recognitions, including the Boy Scouts of America Excellence in Education Award, the College Board’s William U. Harris Award of Excellence and the New York State Association for Women in Administration’s Maxine Giacobbe Award. He has formed district partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the College Board to establish the Palisade Preparatory School, the Yonkers Partners in Education Foundation and the Beczak Environmental Education Center.

“As a college founded by the De La Salle Brothers, Manhattan has a long history of excellence in teacher preparation and pedagogic innovation,” said Brennan O’Donnell, Ph.D., Manhattan College president. “Superintendent Pierorazio’s accomplishments and contributions to his community are impressive.  In honoring him, we also honor the teaching profession and all those who advocate for quality education as the foundation of our civil society.”

Prior to being appointed superintendent, Pierorazio served as the district’s deputy superintendent, its assistant superintendent, and the principal of Saunders Trades and Technical High School. He helped establish Saunders as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

In addition to the Spring Commencement, Manhattan College hosts its 171st Undergraduate Commencement on Sunday, May 19, awarding bachelor’s degrees to students in some 40 major fields of study from its five schools in arts, business, education, engineering and science. Charles H. Thornton ’61, Ph.D., P.E., chairman of Charles H. Thornton & Company, LLC, an engineering consulting firm, will deliver the keynote address.