Kathleen Granahan Kane ’93, the first woman elected to serve as
Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will address
the Class of 2013 at next week’s commencement exercises.
Attorney
General Kane was born and raised in northeastern Pennsylvania. She
attended elementary school and high school in Scranton, PA, and
earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton. Kane
went to Philadelphia to attend Temple Law School and remained in
the city to work at the firm of Post & Schell, handling civil
cases.
In 1995,
Kane moved back to Scranton to accept a position as Assistant
District Attorney of Lackawanna County. It was in this role that
she established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the
courtroom, prosecuting more than 3,000 cases related to child
sexual assault, elder abuse, and public corruption.
Recognized for
her distinguished service, she was selected to head up Lackawanna
County’s first Insurance Fraud Task Force. In addition, she
contributed to law enforcement programs aimed at improving local
communities.
In 2012,
Kathleen Kane became the first woman to be elected Pennsylvania
Attorney General. Since becoming elected she has:
- closed the “Florida
Loophole,” which allowed some people to obtain a concealed carry
permit despite having been denied one in Pennsylvania; - launched initiatives to
protect Pennsylvania’s senior citizens from scams; - greatly increased the
investigation and prosecution of child sexual
predators; - charged eight people in
connection with Turnpike “pay to play” allegations; and - challenged the contract that
would have privatized the state’s lottery.