Coastal Carolina University will recognize approximately 480
candidates for graduation during commencement exercises Saturday, May 5
at 9 a.m. at the campus Soccer Stadium. May and August candidates will
be recognized. The public is welcome to attend.
The ceremony will be transmitted over the Internet at:
www.coastal.edu/graduation.
Walter Edgar, Genevieve Chandler Peterkin and Bill Pinkney will
receive honorary degrees.
Walter Edgar, the commencement speaker, is Claude Neuffer
Professor of History and director for the Institute of Southern Studies
at the University of South Carolina. He is the author or editor of 14
books on South Carolina and the American South, including South
Carolina: A History, published in 1999. He founded and served as the
first director of USC's acclaimed Public History Program.
Edgar earned a master's degree in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1969 in
history from the University of South Carolina. After two years in the
U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, he returned to USC as a
post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives. Edgar joined the USC
faculty in 1972 and was named director of the Institute for Southern
Studies in 1980. He is active in community organizations and has served
on the boards of the South Caroliniana Society, the Historic Columbia
Foundation and the Columbia Museum of Art.
Genevieve Chandler "Sister" Peterkin, a writer, historian and
environmental activist, is a longtime resident of Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Her acclaimed memoir, Heaven is a Beautiful Place, written with William
P. Baldwin, is a personal account of the area's rich history and
culture. Peterkin earned a bachelor's degree in English from Coker
College and a bachelor's degree in library science from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves on the board of directors
of the Coastal Conservation League and the Freewoods Foundation.
Pioneer rhythm and blues recording artist Bill Pinkney is one of
the founders of the Original Drifters, the legendary soul ensemble
which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. A
native of Dalzell, S.C., Pinkney was decorated for his service in World
War II. He is the only living member of the Original Drifters, formed
in 1953. The group was closely associated for many years with the
Atlantic Record Company and produced many classic recordings for the
label, including "Under the Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof," "On
Broadway" and "There Goes My Baby." The music of the Drifters is
closely associated with South Carolina's state dance, the Shag.
In case of inclement weather, the commencement ceremony will be
held in Kimbel Arena; a closed-circuit broadcast also will be shown in
the Wheelwright Auditorium. For more information, contact the Office of
Marketing Communications at 349-2087.
