The College of Charleston undergraduate commencement ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in this historic Cistern Yard. A record breaking 160 students will graduate from The Graduate School of the College of Charleston on May 11, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in the TD Arena.
Read more about the Class of 2012.
Retired Michelin North America Chairman and President Richard Wilkerson will be the featured speaker at the graduate commencement ceremony. During his three-year tenure as chairman and president, Wilkerson was responsible for the financial results and coordination of all operations of the Michelin Group in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico) and was chairman of the internal executive board for this geographic zone. He was also a member of the worldwide executive board of the Michelin Group.
The commencement speaker for both undergraduate ceremonies is Arlinda Locklear ’73, the first female Native American attorney to argue before the Supreme Court. During her 35-year career in federal Indian law, she has represented tribes throughout the country in federal and state courts on treaty claims to water and land, taxation disputes with states and local authorities, reservation boundary issues, and federal recognition of tribes. In 1984, Locklear appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she successfully challenged South Dakota’s authority to prosecute a Native American for on-reservation conduct. In doing so, she was the first Native American woman to appear before the Court.
The morning undergraduate ceremony will include the School of Business, School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, and School of Sciences and Mathematics. The afternoon undergraduate ceremony will include the School of the Arts, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs. Locklear and Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold, long-time philanthropists and community leaders for the College and the state, will receive Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Humane Letters during the afternoon ceremony.
