Approximately 1,100 students will be eligible to march in Coastal Carolina University's upcoming commencement ceremonies on May 6 and 7 at the HTC Center on campus. Grand Strand businessman and civic leader Dennis L. Wade is the speaker for the event, which will consist of four separate ceremonies.

The schedule is as follows:

- Friday, May 6 at 2 p.m. - Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts;

- Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. - Spadoni College of Education and University College;

- Saturday, May 7 at 8:30 a.m. - College of Science;

- Saturday, May 7 at 12:30 p.m. - E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration.

Wade, who will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Public Service, is the president and chief executive officer of the Jackson Companies, a family-owned recreational, real estate and service-based company in the Myrtle Beach area. The company's properties include Ocean Lakes Family Campground, Prestwick Country Club, Crystal Lake Mobile Home Village and SayeBrook Town Center.

Active in the community, Wade has served on the board of visitors of Coastal Carolina University's E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration from 2002 to 2016 and the Coastal Educational Foundation from 2004 to 2016, including two years as chairman. He chaired the board of directors of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and received the chamber's Citizen of the Year award in 2005. He is a recipient of the Leadership Grand Strand's Ann DeBock Leadership Award and the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.

Wade has also been involved with the Waccamaw Community Foundation, the United Way of Horry County, the March of Dimes of Horry County and the Waccamaw Area Chapter of the American Heart Association. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina in 1984, graduating magna cum laude.

The commencement ceremony will also include the presentation of awards to outstanding graduates for academic achievement as well as recognition of retiring faculty members Paul Peterson and Kenneth Rogers. The ceremony will be streamed live on the CCU website at http://livestream.com/coastalcarolinauniversity/events/4801757.