Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) will hold its Fall 2019 Commencement ceremonies Friday, December 13 in the Convocation Hall of the Student Success Center. The undergraduate ceremony will be at 11 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will be at 3 p.m., with 285 students receiving degrees across both ceremonies.

Approximately 135 undergraduate students will be recognized at the morning ceremony for their academic achievements. The commencement speaker will be Georgia State Senator Freddie Powell Sims.

Senator Sims has represented Senate District 12, which includes portions of Sumter County, since 2008. A retired middle school principal and doctor of educational leadership, she also serves on a number of Senate committees and is active in numerous community organizations. Sen. Sims has also been an ardent supporter of Georgia Southwestern and recently worked to secure $3 million in the state budget for the renovation of GSW’s Academic Center for Excellence.

The afternoon ceremony will recognize 150 graduate students, with GSW’s Dean of the College of Business and Computing, Liz Wilson, Ph.D., serving as commencement speaker.

Wilson joined the faculty at GSW in 1990 as an assistant professor of business with a specialty in human resources management. She has been active in many areas on campus throughout her career, including spearheading the adoption of GSW’s BBA degree into the University System of Georgia’s e-major program, serving as the Faculty Athletics Representative to the NAIA and NCAA, and serving on two presidential search committees. She recently announced her plans to retire as Dean in May 2020, a position she has held since 2010.

This Fall is GSW’s first semester holding multiple commencement ceremonies. The administration hopes the move will allow more family and friends to be seated inside Convocation Hall during the ceremonies to support their graduates.