Former Penn State President Eric Barron oversaw his final Penn State graduation in May. However, his signature was noticeably absent from the diplomas of those in the Class of 2022.
In its place was the signature of the new president, Neeli Bendapudi, who took office on May 9, which was notably the day after commencement weekend.
In an email from Penn State, graduates were told that the university will correct the error by reissuing both paper and electronic versions of each graduate’s diploma.
“We are expecting to deliver by U.S. mail the corrected paper diplomas the week of June 13th,” the email read. “We will also be reissuing new CeDiplomas at that time.”
University spokesperson Lisa Powers explained that the mistake happened due to a “miscommunication” with the diploma vendor. Additionally, signatures aside, there was also an issue displaying the graduates’ names correctly on the electronic diplomas.
“A miscommunication with the diploma vendor related to the cutoff date for President Barron’s final commencement and the use of his signature resulted in a printing error,” Powers said. “There also was a technical issue with the Certified Electronic Diplomas (CeDiplomas) being able to display student names correctly. We are working quickly to resolve and correct the matter.”
After an unorthodox college experience that included a pandemic and the retirement of top administrative officials, the Class of 2022 can now officially sign out… with the correct university president’s signature in tow.
