Largest graduating class in Franciscan University’s history prepares for commencement

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Live Action founder Lila Rose to receive honorary degrees


STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - Franciscan University of Steubenville will host its 75th commencement exercises May 12-13, for 795 students, the largest graduating class in its history.

Events begin at 6 p.m. Friday, May 12, with the Baccalaureate Mass, followed by the Science Commencement at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, and the Arts Commencement that same day at 12:30 p.m. All events take place in Finnegan Fieldhouse.

“We are so grateful and excited to send forth almost 800 graduates this year who are not only well-prepared academically and professionally but spiritually as well,” said Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, ’89, president of Franciscan University. “It’s such a privilege to continue building on the faith foundation laid by my brother Franciscans in 1946, educating faithful, mission-oriented disciples of Jesus Christ who are full of joy and courage. Our Church needs them. Our world needs them.”

At the Baccalaureate Mass, Archbishop Paul. S. Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City will preside and receive an honorary doctorate in Christian ethics. Elected USCCB Conference Secretary in 2022, Archbishop Coakley will be honored for his strong pastoral leadership and many years of outspoken advocacy and defense of the dignity of the human person.

Archbishop Coakley was ordained a priest in 1983 for the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., where he served for 21 years. He was ordained bishop of Salina in 2004 until being appointed in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and installed in 2011 as metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Archbishop Coakley has served on several national boards and committees, including as chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development since 2019.

A Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, Archbishop Coakley also serves on several episcopal advisory boards, including for the Pope Paul VI Institute, Institute for Priestly Formation, Aquinas College, Augustine Institute, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, Institute on Religious Life, Napa Institute and ACTS XXIX.

Lila Rose, a renowned pro-life activist, speaker, and founder and president of Live Action, will deliver the commencement address at both the Science and Arts ceremonies. She will receive an honorary doctorate in Christian ethics for her tireless efforts to defend the rights of preborn children through education, advocacy, and investigative reporting.

A native of San Francisco, Rose founded Live Action in 2003 at the age of 15 and began doing undercover investigations of the abortion industry in 2006 when she was 18. She has since built Live Action into a leading nonpartisan, nonprofit, human rights organization with the largest and most engaged online following in the global pro-life movement. The mission of Live Action is “to shift public opinion on the killing of preborn children and defend the rights of these most vulnerable among us.”

An internationally known speaker on family and cultural issues, Rose has spoken at the European Parliament and the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women. She has written for The Hill, Politico, USA Today, and First Things and appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight, CNN, BBC and many more television and radio networks. Rose’s investigative reporting has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, CBS, and ABC Nightline. Author of Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World, she hosts “The Lila Rose Show,” a podcast about relationships, faith, culture and politics.

Franciscan’s Class of 2023 hails from Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, Maryland and 28 other states and 8 countries. The Class of 2023’s top 10 majors are theology, business, psychology, philosophy, nursing, education, communication arts, biology, catechetics and evangelization and English.

Franciscan University President Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, ’89, will confer the degrees, and Father Joseph Lehman, TOR, chairman of the Board of Trustees, will preside at both ceremonies along with members of the Board of Trustees.

For more information, and for a link to a livestream of all ceremonies, visit
academics.franciscan.edu/commencement.