Commencement-Spring-2019

Speakers Dr. KURT C. FRIEHAUF is a licensed professional geologist, a profes- sor of mineral resource geology and geochemistry, and is the chair of the Kutztown University Undergraduate Research Committee. In addition to introductory-level courses on the geology of America’s national parks, he has taught advanced courses in economic geology, mineralogy, igneous and metamorphic petrology, hydrogeology, environmental geology, and geophysics. He taught graduate geology courses for 10 summers at the China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China. Friehauf involves KU students in his cutting-edge research on how ore deposits form, traveling with his students on field expeditions to China, Inner Mongolia, Namibia, and Alaska. He also accompanies his research students to national scientific conferences in the U.S. and Canada where they present their published work to professional researchers from all around the world. As the advisor to the Geology Club, Friehauf travels with KU students to explore geologic wonders in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and many western states in the U.S., and helps organize educational outreach programs for young children in the area. He is dedicated to making a difference not only in the lives of college students, but also those of young people in the broader community. He served as an elected school board director of the Kutztown Area School District and as a local Cub Scout den leader. Friehauf currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists. He is a fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, a member of the Geological Society of America, and was an associate editor of the Journal of Geoscience Education . He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Colorado State University and has a doctorate in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University. GRANT FICKES, of Red Lion, Pa., graduates today with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, with minors in computer science and software development. He is treasurer of the Math Club as well as the former trea- surer and fundraising chairperson of the American Music Program. He is a member of Kappa Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society. While at KU, Fickes was a KU BEARS researcher and a tutor for Col- lege Algebra, Calculus I, and Calculus III courses. He also served as an undergraduate mathematics and statistics researcher at Lafayette College. Fickes frequently volunteered on campus at events such as the STEM Open House, Jazz Day, Woodwind and Brass Day, as well as many off- campus locations including Servant’s Faith Beyond the Pews Work Camp, the Great Chapel Picnic and as a media team member for Chapel Church. “I am thankful for the countless opportunities provided by the uni- versity and am especially thankful for the faculty in the mathematics department,” Fickes said. “Without their support and assistance both within and outside the classroom, none of my success would have been possible.” After graduation, he plans to attend the University of South Carolina as a mathematics doctoral student.