Final Spring 2009 Commencement Ceremonies Set for Saturday In Atlanta

308
Mercer Seal

ATLANTA — Mercer University’s commencement season concludes this Saturday in Atlanta. The final ceremonies of the spring will be held in the Sheffield Student Center on the University’s Cecil B. Day Campus, 3001 Mercer University Drive. In the final ceremony Saturday, the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics will feature an address by John A. Allison, chairman of BB&T Corp., one of the nation’s largest financial holding companies.

In all, Mercer will graduate approximately 1,700 students at nine ceremonies in Macon and Atlanta. Macon commencements concluded May 16.

At 11:30 a.m., the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology will hold commencement for 46 graduates. David A. Hudson, a 1968 graduate of the College of Liberal Arts and partner in the Augusta law firm of Hull, Towhill, Norman, Barrett & Salley, will deliver the address. Hudson is one of the state’s foremost attorneys in the area of media law. He is currently in his 25th year as a Mercer trustee and served as chairman in 2006 and 2007.

At 2:30 p.m., Kelly C. Henson, executive secretary of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, will be the keynote speaker for the Tift College of Education commencement, during which degrees will be awarded to 281 graduates. Before being appointed executive director, Henson served as superintendant of schools in Floyd County.  Henson has been a finalist for the Georgia Superintendent of the Year Award on two separate occasions.

The University’s final commencement of the season will begin at 5:30 p.m., when Allison addresses 134 candidates for degrees from the Stetson School of Business and Economics. The University will also present Allison with an honorary Doctor of Commerce degree during the ceremony. Allison has presided over BB&T’s storied transformation into the 14th largest ¬– and one of the highest performing – financial services companies in the nation with $136.5 billion in assets.

Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus

James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
David A. Hudson, CLA ’68, partner in the law firm of Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley, in Augusta
Saturday, May 23, 11:30 a.m.
Sheffield Student Center
Candidates for degrees: 46

Tift College of Education
Kelly C. Henson, executive secretary of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission
Saturday, May 23, 2:30 p.m.
Sheffield Student Center
Candidates for degrees: 281

Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics
John A. Allison, chairman of BB&T Corp.
Saturday, May 23, 5:30 p.m.
Sheffield Student Center
Candidates for degrees: 134

About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has approximately 7,600 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
— 30 —