This month, students, faculty and staff at Waynesburg University, as well as local residents of the Waynesburg community, will be invited to attend another DeVito Lecture Series. This month’s specific lecture will feature Dennis Yablonsky, the CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliated organizations.

The Rosetta Kormuth DeVito Lecture Series, otherwise known as the DeVito Lecture Series, was originally created to explore topics related to business, culture and the arts. The lecture series, funded by the DeVito family, serves to address a variety of current topics that are of interest to graduate and undergraduate students, as well as the community.

According to Heidi Szuminsky, vice president for Institutional Advancement and University Relations, the DeVito Lecture Series is primarily available to add another layer to what Waynesburg students learn in their everyday classes.

“The lecture was set up to add value to our students’ education and to provide them with leaders in different industries to provide insights that they might not hear in the classroom,” said Szuminsky.

In order to pick the speakers, Szuminsky said Waynesburg’s Office for Academic Affairs looks at criteria from the donors in order to choose a speaker based on a relevant news topic or a general area of interest. According to his biography, Yoblansky is clearly a suitable candidate.

Yoblansky has a lot of experience managing and leading dynamic business growth within the Pittsburgh area. He has also grown companies from the ground up to a greater profitability and success both in the private sector and as the founding CEO of the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.

Yoblansky also serves on the boards of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC), the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), Vibrant Pittsburgh, the Senator John Heinz History Center and the Pittsburgh Public Theater. He is also a member of the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Board of Fellows and a recipient of an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Point Park University for his leadership in the Pittsburgh region.

According to Szuminsky, Yoblansky was originally introduced to the university through a business relationship Waynesburg has with the Allegheny Conference. She said that she, along with all the other administrators, are thankful for Yoblansky’s cooperation, as these do serve as a huge benefit the students.

“We’re always thankful for speakers on campus because they provide us with backgrounds and information that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to,” she said.

On behalf of the entire university, Szuminsky said she is also very thankful for the kindness of the DeVito family, whose contributions have made it all possible.

“We’re grateful that the Devito family has provided speakers to come talk to our students,” said Szuminsky.

The lecture, which is titled, “Supply, Demand and the Future of Work in the Pittsburgh Region,” will be held on Wednesday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Goodwin Performing Arts Center.