Pair of La Roche alumnae elected to top leadership posts on university's board of trustees

A pair of alumnae of La Roche University in McCandless have been elected to serve in leadership positions on the board of trustees.

Class of 2003 graduate Ernestine Harris will serve as board chair and Dione Graswick, who graduated in 1993, is the new vice chair, university officials announced.

“I am humbly honored to have been elected as the board of trustees chair,” Harris said. “I look forward to partnering with (university president) Sister Candace Introcaso, the executive team and the board of trustees to support La Roche’s ongoing excellence in higher education for our students. It is a blessing to serve.”

Harris is a human resources leader and coach who has worked for several major organizations, including PPG Industries, Carnegie Mellon University, Digital Equipment Corp., PNC and GlaxoSmithKline.

Harris also has served as board president of the Pennsylvania Organization of Women in Early Recovery; vice-chair of Goodwill Industries board of directors Southwestern Pennsylvania; and as a board member of the African American Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Harris graduated from La Roche magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in business management and a master of science in human resources management.

She joined the university’s board of trustees in 2016 and was elected vice-chair in 2019.

Graswick works as an assurance partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers and has more than 25 years of experience with several multinational companies that focus on consumer and industrial products as well as the metals and chemicals industries.

Graswick serves on the executive committee for the Pittsburgh Technology Council and chairs the organization’s audit committee. She also is a member of the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The 1993 La Roche graduate earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Alumni Circle Award from La Roche.

Graswick was elected to the board of trustees in 2018 and has been a member of the university’s executive committee since 2020.