Approximately 637 students are eligible to participate in Coastal Carolina University's fall commencement ceremony Saturday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Fall candidates for graduation as well as August 2008 graduates will be recognized in the ceremony.

Coastal Carolina University education professor Barbie Norvell will be the commencement speaker. At Coastal's Honors Convocation in April 2008, Norvell was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year, an annual honor presented by the Student Government Association to outstanding teaching faculty. Since joining the University faculty in 2005, she has served as an assistant professor of early childhood education. Norvell earned a Ph.D. from Auburn University, and her research focus is on teacher advocacy, interactive educational practices and the efficacy of recess and play environments.

Honorary degrees in public service will be presented to Dorothy Anderson and Harold C. Stowe.

Anderson is a Myrtle Beach businesswoman, hotelier and civic leader. A native of Horry County, Anderson operated a farm supply business before entering the hospitality industry in the 1960s. During the past 40 years, the Anderson family has developed a significant presence in the Myrtle Beach tourism industry, including oceanfront hotel properties, condominiums, golf courses and restaurants. Anderson served for 10 years on the board of directors of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. She helped organize the Myrtle Beach Hospitality Association, and she was one of the founders of the Council of Myrtle Beach Organizations (COMBO). In 2005, Anderson was named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Stowe was president and chief executive officer of Canal Industries Inc. from 1997 to 2005. He served as acting dean of Coastal Carolina University's E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration in 2006 and 2007. Prior to joining Canal Industries, the Conway-based timber products company founded by Craig Wall Sr., Stowe was executive vice president of CSI Group Inc. of Conway. During his distinguished career he also served as an executive with the Springs Company of Lancaster and Fort Mill and with NCNB in Charlotte.

Active in civic affairs, he has served as chairman of the board of trustees of Conway Hospital and as chairman of the Myrtle Beach Air Base Redevelopment Authority, as well as a member of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education Business Advisory Council and the Wall College of Business Board of Visitors. Stowe earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Washington and Lee University in 1968 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1970.