Gov. Bill Haslam to deliver Spring Commencement address, May 4

^{Governor Bill Haslam}

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(April 23, 2018) JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Carson-Newman University will host Gov. Bill Haslam and National Park Foundation Chief of Staff Ruth Prescott for its Spring Commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 4.

The University will graduate more than 500 students this spring.

The undergraduate commencement ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. in Burke-Tarr Stadium.

The graduate ceremony will follow at 7 p.m. in Holt Field House, with Prescott, a Carson-Newman Board of Trustees member, giving the address.

“It is an honor to have Gov. Bill Haslam and National Park Foundation Chief of Staff Ruth Prescott addressing our graduates,” said University President J. Randall O’Brien. “Both know the value of a quality education and have a great deal of wisdom to impart as our students venture into this next phase of their lives. Hearing from these distinguished public servants will be an opportunity not just for our graduates and members of our campus but for our community as well.”

Haslam is concluding his final term as governor after securing the largest re-election victory in the state’s modern history in 2014. Under his leadership, Tennessee has made significant gains in education, economic development, efficient government and fiscal strength.

Since Haslam took office in 2011, Tennessee students have been the fastest improving in the country in academic achievement. High school graduation rates are at an all-time high, and Tennessee is the first state in the nation to offer high school graduates and adults two years of college free of tuition and mandatory fees at eligible institutions, including Carson-Newman. The University is one of only a few four-year colleges in the state where students can qualify for this Tennessee Promise scholarship and earn an associate degree.

Prescott began serving on the University’s Board of Trustees in 2015. A 1980 Bachelor of Arts in political science graduate from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, she went on to receive her Juris Doctorate in 1990 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville, Florida. Prescott joined the National Park Foundation in May 2014.

In the event of inclement weather, undergraduate ceremonies will be split into three services located in the Holt Field House.

The first ceremony will be at 9 a.m. and will include art, photography, communications, English, film, history, interdisciplinary studies, music, political science, philosophy, psychology, religion, human services, sociology, social entrepreneurship, theatre, linguistics, world languages and associate degree graduates.

The second undergraduate ceremony at 11 a.m. will include biology, bio-chemistry, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, education, human exceptionalities, special education, physical education and exercise science graduates.

Those graduating from the departments of business, family and consumer science, and nursing will participate in the final undergraduate ceremony at 2 p.m.

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts university located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The University has over 2,500 students and offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.