CCU to hold commencement exercises May 5-6
The University ceremony will be held on Friday, May 5, at 9 a.m. in Brooks Stadium. This is a campus-wide celebration of all the students graduating from the University’s academic colleges. As part of the ceremony, each college dean steps forward to request that University President Michael T. Benson confer degrees on the college’s candidates as they stand to be recognized en masse. The event will also feature remarks by Benson; H. Delan Stevens ’79, chairman of the CCU board of trustees; Destiny Jackson, Student Government Association (SGA) executive vice president, and Gabrielle Ryder, SGA president. The keynote address will be delivered by CCU alumna Brooke Weisbrod ’01, an ESPN broadcaster, who will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. Also receiving honorary degrees are Thomas G. Boyd (Doctor of Science), presented posthumously; Chief Harold D. Hatcher (Doctor of Humane Letters); and Senator Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (Doctor of Public Service).
The college-specific ceremonies are unique in nature to reflect the personalities of each of CCU’s five academic colleges, but all will include addresses from the dean of the college, and a guest speaker; and recognition of graduates. During these ceremonies, the graduates’ names will be announced, and they will be given the opportunity to cross the stage and receive their diploma cover.
College-specific ceremonies schedule (HTC Center):
Friday, May 5
2 p.m., E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration
6 p.m., Gupta College of Science and HTC Honors College
Saturday, May 6
10 a.m., Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts
2 p.m., Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance
6 p.m., Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences
Weisbrod is a former Chanticleer three-sport standout who graduated cum laude in 2001. Her basketball awards include being named the Big South Conference rookie, player, and scholar athlete of the year, and she was named the 2001 NCAA Woman of the Year in South Carolina. She also was CCU’s first female Chanticleer of the Year. Today, Weisbrod covers men’s and women’s college and high school basketball, calling games for ESPN as an analyst and sideline reporter. Some of her most memorable moments include interviewing Sabrina Ionescu when Oregon went to the Final Four, Zion Williamson after an epic Duke comeback, and asking Kim Mulkey who made her now infamous pink flamingo blazer. In 2017, Weisbrod created Skills and Score, a nonprofit organization offering free sports camps in at-risk areas to Chicago Public School students. She also runs Chi-Side, a media training program for young basketball players who aspire to be in broadcasting.
Boyd, a native of Conway, S.C., was professor emeritus at CCU. He began his career as band director at Lake View High School. He met his future wife, Genewood “Gene” Brown of Conway, while working part-time as a recruiter for Coastal. In 1970, Boyd became the first honor graduate at the University of South Carolina at age 41 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He completed his M.Ed. and returned to Coastal, establishing the Department of Psychology. Boyd was twice the recipient of Coastal’s Outstanding Teaching Award, retiring in 1992 as a dual professor emeritus of USC and CCU. He returned to teach part-time until shortly after his 80th birthday in 2008. Boyd passed away on Nov. 25, 2018.
Hatcher has been Chief of the Waccamaw Indian People since 1992. He chaired the National Coalition for Indian Equality, which consisted of more than 400 native groups and tribes across the country. In 1994, he briefed then-President Bill Clinton on the plight of non-federal Indians in this country and achieved some relief in federal laws that separate non-federal Indians from the other citizens of the United States. Statewide, Hatcher has worked closely with every South Carolina governor since Carroll Campbell Jr. and was recognized for his work that resulted in Native American Recognition in the state of South Carolina. In 2014, he was elected for his fourth term as chairman of the South Carolina Indian Affairs Commission, of which he is a founding member. Hatcher began his career in the U.S. Army, where he served for 20 years.
Peeler was elected to the South Carolina Senate and began his service to the people of Senate District 14 in November 1980. The district is comprised of his home county of Cherokee, along with portions of Spartanburg, Union, and York counties. With 43 years of service, he sits as the second most senior senator. In January 2019, Peeler became the first elected president of the South Carolina Senate and served in that role until December 2021. Following the 2005 legislative session, Peeler accepted the position of majority leader and served until March 2015. He also was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In 1970, Peeler graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University.