Approximately 360 students are eligible to participate in Coastal Carolina University's summer graduation ceremony on Friday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m. at the HTC Student Recreation and Convocation Center. Robert Young, Ph.D., professor of marine science, will deliver the address.

Young, the 2016 recipient of the HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer Award, is the state coordinator for the South Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network. His research and publications have focused primarily on the ecology of bottlenose dolphins in the southeastern United States and on the behavior, ecology and population biology of fishes in the southeastern U.S. He has developed and directed or co-directed numerous marine and environmental education programs for students and teachers at all levels.

Young earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a doctoral degree in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. He has served as department chair for marine science and the associate provost for grants and sponsored research at CCU and as the president of the South Carolina Marine Mammal Educators Association. The HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer Award is presented annually to a CCU faculty member who demonstrates outstanding teaching through scholarship and mentoring.

The ceremony will be presented in a live web stream at commencement.