Apr 29, 2022 3 min read

Waynesburg University will hold its annual baccalaureate and commencement exercises April 30 and May 1 on the campus of Waynesburg University.

The Honorable D. Brooks Smith, senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Laural Ziemba, director of public affairs at Range Resources, will address the Class of 2022 as the commencement speakers, and Marilyn West, owner and chief executive officer of M.H. West and Co., will serve as the baccalaureate speaker.

Two commencement ceremonies will be held on the lawn of Miller Hall, honoring more than 400 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students from the Waynesburg campus, as well as the university’s additional site in Southpointe.

Ziemba will speak at the graduate and professional studies ceremony at 4 p.m. on April 30 and Smith will speak at the undergraduate ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 1. The baccalaureate service will be held at 11 a.m. on May 1 at Roberts Chapel.

Smith has served on the Third Circuit since 2022 and was Chief Judge of that court from October 2016 to December 2021. He is the only judge in history of the Circuit to have served as both a chief district judge and chief circuit judge.

Prior to his elevation to the Third Circuit, Smith was the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He joined the District Court in 1988.

Ziemba represents Range Resources through its working relationships with the communities in which Range operates.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications at Duquesne University and Master of Business Administration at Waynesburg University.

Ziemba is a member of the board of directors for the Southwest Corner Work Force Development Board, the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County, the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Health System Foundation, the finance council for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Washington County 2000 Turkeys Food Drive Campaign. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce Young Athena Award.

West is the founder, owner and chief executive officer of M.H. West and Co., a Richmond, Va., based planning and consulting company with specialization in management, education and planning services.

She is a member of Waynesburg University’s Board of Trustees. She received the school’s Margaret Bell Miller leadership Award in 2009 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006.

West holds a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Waynesburg University.

Graduates have the opportunity to participate virtually if they are unable to attend in person. Virtual participants will be honored at the in-person ceremony with their name announced and their photo shown on a large outdoor screen. Baccalaureate and the two commencement ceremonies will be live-steamed, available online at Waynesburg.edu/live.