USI Fall Commencement to be held Saturday, December 7

The University of Southern Indiana will hold two Fall Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, December 7, in the Screaming Eagles Arena.

The ceremony for the College of Liberal Arts and the Romain College of Business will be held at 10 a.m. The ceremony for the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education will be held at 1 p.m. Doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony.

Dr. Ernest H. Hall, Jr., professor of management and the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Professor Award, will present the commencement address at the 10 a.m. ceremony. Hall began his career at USI in 1992 as the director of the Small Business Institute. In 1998, he became chair of the Management and Marketing Department; director of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in 2000, as well as the associate dean for what is now the Romain College of Business, both until 2004. In 2012, he served five years again as director of the MBA program. As the director of the USI MBA program, he played a key role in laying the foundation for the launch of the highly successful online MBA program.

Dr. Sakina M. Hughes, associate professor of history and the recipient of the 2019 H. Lee Cooper Core Curriculum Award, will present the commencement address at the 1 p.m. ceremony. Hughes began her career at USI in 2013 after serving as the Dubois-Mandela-Rodney Postdoctoral Fellow: Department of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. Currently at USI, along with being associate professor, she is the assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the director of Africana Studies. She is also a board member for the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, co-chair of the Nelson Mandela Social Justice Commemoration Committee, and was the founding president of the USI Faculty Women of Color in the Academy.

In all, 708 degrees will be awarded, including master's degrees, post-bachelor certificates, bachelor's degrees and associate degrees. As part of the commencement ceremonies, 103 students are graduating with academic honors: 10 will graduate summa cum laude, 39 magna cum laude, and 54 cum laude. Of the graduates, nine are University Honors Scholars-students who have successfully completed the Honors Program-and can be recognized by the white honor cords worn with their regalia.

Guests are not required to have tickets for either of the Fall Commencement ceremonies but graduates must make a reservation to participate in the ceremony. All planning to attend are strongly advised to review the Screaming Eagles Arena Prohibited Items and Security Policy at USI.edu/arena-security. Once capacity within the Arena is met, attendees will be directed to overflow areas located in the University Center East Conference Center.

Graduates and their guests are invited to a reception following each ceremony in University Center East, sponsored by the USI Alumni Association.

Follow the ceremonies on social media with the hashtag #USIgrad on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.