ATLANTA/MACON — Mercer University will hold on Saturday, May 6, the first three of its 10 commencement ceremonies. The University’s three health schools will graduate their students in separate ceremonies on their respective campuses in Macon and Atlanta. The remaining seven ceremonies will take place over the next two weeks.
The Southern School of Pharmacy will graduate 130 doctor of pharmacy and Ph.D. candidates at 9 a.m. at Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta. Dr. Carmen A. Catizone, CEO and executive director/secretary of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, will be the keynote speaker. In this year’s graduating Doctor of Pharmacy class, nine students have completed the exceptionally rigorous pharmacy program with a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout their four years of study.
At noon, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing will graduate 97 bachelor’s and master’s nursing degree candidates on the Atlanta campus. Ms. Sharon H. Cox, a 1966 Nursing alumna and principal consultant with Cox & Associates, will be the featured speaker. Nursing student Hollie Benet Preston, will receive the University’s most distinguished honor for community service and leadership, the Griffin B. Bell Award for Community Service. She is receiving a bachelor of science in nursing degree following an outstanding career at Mercer where she excelled not only as a student, but also as a community service volunteer.
On the Macon campus, Mercer’s School of Medicine will graduate 89 doctor of medicine and master’s degree candidates at 5 p.m. at the University Center. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be the keynote speaker. The School of Medicine will award two Doctor of Science honorary degrees for service to the medical professional to Dr. Gerberding and Dr. W. Douglas Skelton, who is the public health director for Chatham and Effingham counties, Georgia Department of Human Resources, and a former dean of the School of Medicine.
Southern School of Pharmacy
Speaker: Dr. Carmen A. Catizone, CEO and Executive Director/Secretary of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
Saturday, May 6, 9 a.m.
Sheffield Student Center, Atlanta Campus
Graduates: 130
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
Speaker: Ms. Sharon H. Cox, ’66 Nursing, Principal Consultant, Cox & Associates
Saturday, May 6, noon
Sheffield Student Center, Atlanta Campus
Graduates: 97
School of Medicine
Speaker: Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Saturday, May 6, 5 p.m.
The University Center, Macon Campus
Graduates: 89
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta as well as regional academic centers in Douglas County, Henry County, Macon and Eastman. With 10 schools and colleges, the University offers programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and theology. On July 1 2006, the University will add its eleventh academic program, the School of Music. For 16 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has named Mercer University as one of the leading universities in the South. The Princeton Review has ranked it among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation.
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