EDINBORO — In his first spring commencement address since being appointed the 16th Edinboro University of Pennsylvania president, Jeremy D. Brown Ph.D. conferred degrees upon 831 students Saturday.

Comprising the graduates were 602 students who received bachelor’s degrees, 190 received master’s degrees and 39 received associate degrees.

In all, 75 academic majors were represented during the spring 2008 commencement ceremony, including students in education, art, business administration and criminal justice programs.

Brown said commencement is one of the “most important moments of a person’s life,” and encouraged students not to fear or resist change, but “to embrace it.”

“This is an annual, life-event milestone that we all look forward to,” he said. “It is a day we welcome, but with mixed emotions of saying good-bye to old friends, while at the same time, taking pride in their accomplishments as they begin a new journey down many paths.”

During the 1 p.m. ceremony in McComb Field House, Brown, who is the 16th president at Edinboro, also highlighted “the whirlwind of activity” at Edinboro over the first 10

months of his presidency, including the installation of artificial turf on the football field, the $115 million student housing project, the creation of a women’s lacrosse team and the completion of the new $5 million state-of-the-art music center.

Brown announced that the 2008 spring graduation event “may be the last commencement held in McComb Field House,” as the University plans to begin yet another building project for a multi-purpose domed building with a capacity of two to three times McComb’s capacity.

Saturday’s commencement event is the first time the university has employed the use of an automated video announcement program to introduce the graduates. As students approached the stage, they presented bar-coded cards the size of postcards to a facilitator, which then played back pre-recorded messages and videos of the graduating students on a large video screen monitor above the stage in McComb.

Brown’s overriding message was for students to become emboldened, and told them that “it’s far easier to say ‘no’ to a new idea than embracing it.”

“We are reluctant to step outside of our comfort zones to try something new,” he said. He also ensured students that they would “have more regrets from failing to act, than from acting and failing — and fewer regrets from taking the road less traveled than not taking the road at all.”

Pearl Bartelt Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, led the academic procession.

Delivering the student address during Saturday’s commencement was Lindsay K. Reedy, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Reedy spoke to students about becoming emboldened by their dreams and then pursuing them.

Harold C. Shields, chairman of Edinboro University’s Council of Trustees, presented an honorary doctorate degree to Michael J. Redlawsk, a regional real estate developer and longtime Edinboro University supporter.

Brown said “real success is when you do something new” and told students that their departure from Edinboro meant that they would graduate “with a clean slate” and would join the ranks of 50,000 other alumni throughout the world who, with the help of the Alumni Association “will help you succeed.” In return, he asked that students someday be prepared to “return the favor to some future student who will need your help.”