Graduation speaker announced: Alumnus Barbara J. Christner, Esq.

Barbara Christner photoThe University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg announced that alumnus Barbara J. Christner, Esq., will be the speaker at its 2017 Commencement. The campus’ Commencement ceremony will be held Saturday, April 29, at 11 a.m. on Ridilla Field (inclement weather: Chambers Hall Gymnasium).

A 1985 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, she is vice president and shareholder at Ward & Christner, PC, in Greensburg. In 2010, the University selected her as its Alumna of Distinction, which recognizes excellence among alumni at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg based on outstanding level of professional achievements, service to the community, service to the University of Pittsburgh, special recognition or honors, and other special efforts or success.

Christner, a resident of Greensburg, graduated from Duquesne Law School and passed the bar exam in 1992. Her career in law began when she took a job as receptionist/secretary at the law firm of Costello and Berk. Christner continued to work full-time while earning her undergraduate degree and law degree, advancing to bookkeeper and estate administrator at the law office. As estate administrator, she worked with clients until they reached the auditing phase. Christner earned the respect of lawyers who took over her cases at the auditing phase because of her thorough preparation of the cases and their materials.

A past president of the Westmoreland Bar Association (WBA), Christner served on that board for seven years as a director or officer. Coordinator of the WBA “Truth about Living Trust Programs,” she has served as the co-chair of the Real Estate Committee and a member of the Orphans’ Court & Elder Law Committee. She also has served as a member of the boards of directors of the Westmoreland Bar Foundation (WBF) and Laurel Legal Services.

Her community service includes having served on the boards of the Lutheran Youth and Family Services (now Glade Run), the Westmoreland Choral Society, and various committees at the First Lutheran Church of Greensburg. She is a current member of the Advisory Board of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

Of the 280 eligible to graduate, 194 students will participate in the Commencement ceremony. Seventeen students will take part in the Legacy Diploma presentations where a family member who is also a Pitt alumnus or alumna participates on stage in the diploma presentation.

Founded in 1963, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg is a publicly assisted, four-year, liberal arts college in southwestern Pennsylvania. Pitt-Greensburg offers 28 baccalaureate degree programs, including new majors in Nursing, Public Policy, Education, and Spanish, as well as 19 minors, and numerous pre-professional options. Since 1986, 16 professors have received the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Teaching while teaching at Pitt-Greensburg.

Publication Date

Wednesday, December 31, 1969 - 23:00