Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. urged the over 500 graduates at the College of Charleston’s Winter Commencement Ceremony to create better cities.
“Fight to make your community livable and memorable,” Riley told the crowd during his commencement address. “Advance where you go and live.”
Mayor Riley was the keynote commencement speaker for the ceremony. Riley is currently serving an unprecedented ninth term as the mayor of the City of Charleston. Under his leadership, Charleston has been recognized as one of the most livable and progressive cities in the United States.
Honorary degrees were also presented to Mary Jackson and Mel Marvin.
Jackson is the founding member of the Mt. Pleasant Sweetgrass Basket Makers’ Association. Her work has been exhibited at numerous institutions throughout the United States including the Smithsonian Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in N. Y., the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Museum of African American History in Detroit.
Marvin is a 1962 graduate of the College of Charleston. He is a veteran in the theatre, with over a hundred musical, incidental and operatic scores to his credit. He received a Tony nomination as a co-author of Tintypes and also wrote the music for the Broadway productions of Yentl and A History of the American Film.
Over 475 undergraduate and over 70 graduate students received degrees during the ceremony.
