EMAIL
Print
SMC’s Centennial Commencement Set For Friday
05/02/11 — College Will Also Recognize Several Members of its "100 Years of Pioneers"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SPARTANBURG, SC - Spartanburg Methodist College will graduate more than 150 students on Friday, May 6, during its centennial commencement - a service which will also honor several distinguished individuals who played a big role in SMC's first 100 years.
Degrees will be conferred on approximately 166 students during the 10 am commencement ceremonies. Students will gather at 9 am outside the Burgess Student Center for a processional across campus.
SMC will also recognize members of its "100 Years of Pioneers," including SMC alum and former South Carolina governor Olin Johnston (Class of 1915). Johnston's daughter, former South Carolina 4th District U.S. representative and SMC trustee Liz Patterson will receive the award in his honor.
"100 years ago, Spartanburg Methodist College was formed for this community; for the purpose of educating the textile workforce of Upstate South Carolina in the early 1900s - workers who may otherwise have not had an opportunity for any education beyond the earliest of grades. We have grown and expanded our mission over the past 100 years, but one thing remains constant: we provide a crucial access point to higher education for more than 800 students every year. As we celebrate our Centennial Commencement, I want to assure Upstate South Carolina that we plan to be around providing that success and achieving success for more than the next 100 years," says SMC president Dr. Colleen P. Keith.
SMC alumnus Dr. Robert Sherfield will serve as the keynote speaker for the commencement services.
Dr. Sherfield is the co-author of the 2010 publication Cornerstones for Community College Success, which SMC adopted as the primary textbook for its SMC 101 course in fall 2010.
He has been teaching public speaking, theatre, and student success and working with first-year orientation programs for over 25 years. Currently, he is a professor at the College of Southern Nevada, teaching student success, technical writing, public speaking, and drama.
An award-winning educator, Dr. Sherfield was named Educator of the Year at the College of Southern Nevada. He twice received the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award from the University of South Carolina Union, and has received numerous other awards and nominations for outstanding classroom instruction and advisement.
Dr. Sherfield's extensive work with student success programs includes experience with the design and implementation of these programs-including one program that was presented at the International Conference on the First-Year Experience in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He has conducted faculty development keynotes and workshops at over 350 institutions of higher education across America. He has spoken in 46 states and several foreign countries.
SMC sophomore Steven William Green, of Pinewod, SC, will serve as the student speaker for the commencement services. Green, a graduate of Scott's Branch High School, is the son of James and Kathy Green.
Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 100th academic year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.
More information on keynote speaker Dr. Robert Sherfield can be found at www.robertsherfield.com.
For more information, please contact Brian Fulkerson, SMC director of public information, at (864) 587-4254.