Three more Mississippi universities have announced their commencement speakers for the graduating class of spring 2017.

Mississippi State University: Dr. LouAnn Woodward, MSU alumnus, is the vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and dean of UM’s School of Medicine. She will deliver the keynote address on May 6 at the Humphrey Coliseum. Nearly 2,900 Mississippi State students are candidates for 2017 spring semester degrees.

Delta State University: Former state Supreme Court Justice Ann Lamar, recently appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, will speak May 6, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Bologna Performing Arts Center. Approximately 430 DSU students are candidates for graduation.

William Carey University: Charles (Chuck) Scianna, co-founder and owner of Sim-Tex, L.P., which distributes equipment to the oil and gas industry, will speak May 13 at 9 a.m. at the Hattiesburg campus.

Previously announced commencement speakers include:

Tougaloo College: Randall Pinkston, former journalist and CBS news anchor, May 7, 10 a.m. on the Tougaloo Campus Green.

University of Mississippi: Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author, May 13, 9 a.m. in the Grove.

Belhaven College: Belhaven President Dr. Roger Parrott, May 13, 9:30 a.m. at Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson. There are 300 candidates for graduation.

Mississippi University for Women: Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Mississippi Sen. Sally Doty, an alumna, May 13, in Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall. Reeves will speak at 10 a.m. with conferring of degrees for graduates of the College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology. Doty will speak at 2 p.m. with conferring of degrees for graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Professional Studies and College of Education and Human Sciences. There are approximately 400 candidates for graduation.


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Ashley F.G. Norwood

ashley@mississippitoday.org

Ashley F. G. Norwood, a native of Jackson, earned a bachelor's degree in English from Jackson State University and a master’s degree from the Meek School of Journalism at the University of Mississippi. Norwood, who specializes in multimedia journalism, has been recognized nationally for her documentary film the fly in the buttermilk, which covers the history, perceptions and principles of black Greek-lettered organizations at the University of Mississippi.