Playhouse Square CEO Art Falco and Ira Harkavy, community partnership architect at University of Pennsylvania, to receive honorary degrees

CLEVELAND (Tuesday, May 5, 2015) – More than 2,100 students will participate in ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ’s Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 9, with ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., Cleveland.

Two outstanding leaders, Art Falco and Ira Harkavy, will be awarded honorary degrees. Both are being recognized for their track records of developing visionary partnerships that leverage university resources to improve their surrounding communities.

The morning ceremony recognizes graduates of the colleges of Education and Human Services, Engineering, Sciences and Health Professions, and the School of Nursing. The afternoon ceremony recognizes graduates of the colleges of Business, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and Urban Affairs.

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ President Ronald M. Berkman will deliver the commencement address at both ceremonies. Each will be preceded by a procession of graduates and faculty and will also be streamed for online viewing at .

Honorary Degree Recipients:

• Ira Harkavy is Associate Vice President and founding Director of the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. As Director of the Netter Center since 1992, Harkavy has helped to develop academically based community service courses as well as participatory action research projects that involve creating university-assisted community schools in Penn's local community of West Philadelphia. He is an historian with extensive experience building university-community-school partnerships.

Art J. Falco has served as President and CEO of Playhouse Square since 1991. Under his leadership, Playhouse Square has grown to become one of the nation’s largest performing arts centers and an international model for arts management. Playhouse Square with ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ raised $30 million to convert the historic Allen Theatre into three versatile performance spaces for the University's Department of Theatre and Dance and the Cleveland Play House. Since 2012, with the addition of The Galleries @ ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ and renovation of the Middough Building, Playhouse Square has served as home to the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ Arts Campus. In 2007 Mr. Falco was awarded ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼×ÊÁÏ's President's Medal, its most prestigious non-academic recognition.

Remember to use #CLEstate15 on social media to celebrate your big day.