Commencement and other ceremonies at ASU
Augusta, GA- Augusta State University President William A. Bloodworth, Jr., will present his final commencement address on Saturday, May 12, at 10 a.m., when he addresses the candidates for graduation at the spring commencement ceremony in the James Brown Arena.
Bloodworth, who is retiring from his 19 year presidency, will be returning to the classroom as a professor of English and American Studies. His teaching career spans 47 years, beginning as a public school teacher in Boerne and Port Neches, Texas, and continuing through a higher education career at East Carolina University and Central Missouri State University. Bloodworth was serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Central Missouri when he was named the eighth president at then-Augusta College. He assumed the presidency on October 1, 1993.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in English and Education from Texas Lutheran University, a master’s degree in English from Lamar University, and a doctoral degree in American Civilization from the University of Texas at Austin.
The day before commencement, two ASU departmental traditions will take place. On Friday, May 11, at 10 a.m. in the D. Douglas Barnard, Jr. Amphitheatre will be the Spring Commissioning Ceremony. Ten cadets will receive their commission into the U.S. Army.
The guest speaker will be Col. Michelle M. Fraley, director of Capabilities, Development, and Integration Directorate, and the Acting Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon. She received her commission as a second lieutenant from West Point.
Col. Fraley holds a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Russian and German and master’s degrees in business administration, international relations, and strategic studies. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership. She is a graduate of the Signal Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College and the Joint Staff Officer Course, and the Navy War College.
Later that evening, ASU’s Department of Nursing will hold its annual Pinning Ceremony at 7 p.m. in ASU’s Maxwell Theatre. Dr. Jeanette Merriweather will be the keynote speaker. During the ceremony, the nursing candidates for graduation will receive their pins and recite the traditional Nightingale Pledge―an oath vowing that they will dedicate themselves to the nursing profession.
Merriweather is an assistant professor in ASU’s nursing department. She received both her bachelor and master degrees in nursing from Georgia Health Sciences University.
For more information about commencement, call ASU’s Registrar’s office at 706-737-1408.
###
Note: Guests attending the ceremony are requested not to bring air horns and helium balloons to the arena. Balloons are banned by the arena, and the arena staff will collect them if brought into the building. Air horns are not only disruptive to the ceremony, but cause discomfort to other guests seated in the vicinity.
