Faculty and Staff News
Current Student News
Optometry
General News
Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, a U.S. representative for Pennsylvania’s 4th congressional district, which includes most of Montgomery County, will deliver the keynote address at Salus University’s 122nd commencement ceremony 2 p.m. Thursday, May 27, 2021.
“I’m a former professor so I love being around young people claiming their education and Salus University and the three colleges here are so important to my district and to the students who train and get educated here,” said Dean. “It’s a complete honor and a privilege to get to talk to young, smart people.”
The spring commencement will take place virtually over three days. Students have the option to participate in a live drive-through ceremony May 25 and May 26 to receive their diplomas in person while the ceremony will be live-streamed for attendees to watch at home.
The University’s three Colleges will recognize their graduates in separate events: the Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) and the College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, May 25; and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) Wednesday, May 26.
A native of Glenside, Pennsylvania, Dean completed her undergraduate studies at La Salle University in Philadelphia and earned her law degree at Delaware Law School of Widener University. She practiced law in a small Philadelphia firm and with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, eventually serving as its executive director, and then opened a small, three-woman law practice in Glenside, Pennsylvania. From 2001 until 2011 she was a member of the English Department at La Salle University — teaching composition, persuasive writing and rhetoric, business writing, legal writing and ethics.
After studying politics and public service at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, Dean ran for and served as Abington Township commissioner in 2011, before winning a special election to the Pennsylvania State House in 2012.
In 2018, she ran for the Fourth Congressional District seat and won. In Congress, Dean served as one of nine impeachment managers selected to prosecute former President Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial.
“I hope my address has some meaning for the students because they’ve struggled a lot through this past year. I certainly have missed the personal, face-to-face connection. You just get such energy from young graduate students,” said Dean. “But most importantly, I know they’re just excited about commencement.”
