MGA to Graduate Nearly 700 Students at Fall 2019 Commencement

Author: News Bureau
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2019 12:00 AM
Categories: School of Education and Behavioral Sciences | School of Aviation | Students | Honors/Awards | Faculty/Staff | School of Business | School of Arts and Letters | School of Health and Natural Sciences | Events- Public | School of Computing | Pressroom

Macon, GA

Nearly 700 students are candidates for graduation at Middle Georgia State University's 2019 fall commencement ceremonies, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 12, and Friday, Dec. 13.

The commencement speaker for the December 12 ceremonies is Sachin Shailendra, a member of the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents and president of SG Contracting, Inc., an Atlanta-based general contracting and construction management company. For the December 13 ceremony, former Regent and majority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives Larry Walker is the speaker.

Middle Georgia State (MGA) will hold three ceremonies on Thursday, Dec. 12, all in the Recreation and Wellness Center on the Macon Campus. The 9 a.m. ceremony is for graduates of the School of Health and Natural Sciences; the 1 p.m. ceremony is for the School of Computing and the School of Arts & Letters; and the 4 p.m. ceremony is for the School of Education & Behavioral Sciences and the School of Aviation.

The ceremony for the School of Business, also to be held in the Recreation and Wellness Center, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 13.

Of the 667 students who had applied for graduation as of early December, 56 will receive their master's degrees, 3 will receive graduate certificates, and 476 will receive bachelor's degrees. The rest will receive associate's degrees or undergraduate program certificates.

Family and friends of graduates without tickets can watch the ceremonies from rooms 202, 203, 204, or 205 of the Teacher Education Building on the Macon Campus. In addition, all ceremonies will be livestreamed: www.mga.edu/live.

 About the speakers:

A member the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents since 2014, Shailendra is the current chair of the University System’s Foundation and the incoming chair of the Board of Regents. Composed of 19 members, the Board of Regents oversees the 26 public colleges and universities that comprise the University System of Georgia. 

Shailendra also serves on the boards of the Georgia REACH Foundation, the Children’s Health Care of Atlanta’s Sports Network, and the Metro Atlanta YMCA. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech and an alumnus of Woodward Academy, where he has served as president of the Alumni Association and member of the school’s Advisory Council.

Walker is founding partner of the law firm Walker Hulbert Gray & Moore, LLP, in Perry. A published author and newspaper columnist, he is the 2014 recipient of the American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

He has practiced law in Perry since he graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1965. In 1972, he was elected to the Georgia General Assembly, taking the seat formerly occupied by Sam Nunn. Walker served continuously until 2005. In 1983, he assumed the duties of Administration Floor Leader for Governor Joe Frank Harris, and in 1986, he was elected Majority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, serving in this capacity for 16 years.

In 2009, Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed him an at-large member of the Board of Regents. He remained on the board until 2017.

Also scheduled to speak at all four ceremonies is Jason Vadell, president of MGA’s Student Government Association. The alumni speaker at all ceremonies will be Nick Rios, Class of 2011, who co-founded M&R Marketing, an award-winning, full-service marketing agency located in Macon.

Middle Georgia State University (MGA) serves students on campuses in Macon, Cochran, Dublin, Eastman, and Warner Robins, and online through MGA Direct. Students can choose from dozens of programs - including business, nursing, information technology, new media and communications, and contemporary musicianship - that lead to bachelor’s degrees. MGA also offers professional master’s degrees in cybersecurity, nursing, management, secondary education, and technical and professional writing, with other graduate programs under development. The University is home to Georgia’s only public School of Aviation - based on the Eastman campus - and a four-year degree in flight. mga.edu