Several hundred Coastal Carolina University students participated in the in-person fall commencement ceremony held Friday, Dec. 11, in Brooks Stadium. More than 689 students were eligible to participate. On Saturday, Dec. 12, at 1 p.m., CCU will hold an in-person ceremony in the stadium for students who graduated in virtual ceremonies during the 2020 spring and summer semesters. Approximately 200 graduates are expected to return to campus for the event.

During Friday's ceremony, the University awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Public Service, to both J. Egerton Burroughs and John Rhodes. Burroughs is partner of Burroughs Brothers Properties, a real estate development/consultant company headquartered in Conway, S.C. From 1990 to 2012, he served as chairman of Burroughs & Chapin, a privately owned real estate investment trust that was founded more than 100 years ago. Rhodes, a CCU graduate, served as the mayor of Myrtle Beach for three terms. He was first elected in November 2005 and served until January 2018.

Seven graduating students received the President's Award for Academic Achievement, which recognizes students with the highest cumulative grade point averages. The recipients of the award all had perfect 4.0 grade point averages, graduating summa cum laude: Christian Alexis Hanna, an accounting major from Conway; Nicole Elizabeth Michael, a psychology major from Westminster, Md.; McKayla Marie Mills, a psychology major from Nescopeck, Penn.; Alexis Nicole Panepinto, an elementary education major from Myrtle Beach; Victoria Schuyler, an accounting major from Manville, N.J.; Hailey Mariah Shetler, a communication major from Myrtle Beach; and Zackary Robert Weilage, a communication major from Monroe, N.C.

Retiring CCU faculty members Janice Black, Henry Lowenstein, Steven Madden, Ray Moye, and Carol Osborne were also recognized during the ceremony. Black joined the CCU faculty in 2010 and most recently served as a professor of management in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration. Lowenstein served as a professor of management and law and the Vereen Endowed Professor of Business in the Wall College of Business Administration. Madden served as a professor of communication in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Arts. Moye joined the CCU faculty in 1994 and most recently served as an associate professor of English in the Edwards College of Humanities and Arts. Osborne joined the CCU faculty in 2002 and most recently served as director of academic and community outreach.