Commissioner Gist joins graduates at Penn

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist.

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist was among the students at graduation ceremonies this weekend at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Gist has been working toward a doctoral degree in education leadership at the Ivy League school. A spokesman from the Rhode Island Department of Education says she is still putting the finishing touches on her dissertation, and she expects to officially receive her degree at the end of the summer semester.

The topic of Gist’s dissertation will be familiar to teachers and administrators across the Ocean State: the process of implementing an educator evaluation system.