Contact:
Leah Seupersad, 404-413-1354
University Relations
More than 3,600 students will graduate from Georgia State University during fall commencement ceremonies.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed will speak at the commencement for bachelor, master and specialist degree candidates on Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Georgia Dome. Reed, an Atlanta native, served more than 11 years as a member of the Georgia General Assembly before being elected Atlanta’s 59th mayor in 2009.
Jennifer McCoy, a political science professor at Georgia State and director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program, delivered the keynote address at the Ph.D. commencement and hooding ceremony on Dec. 12. at the Rialto Center for the Arts.
McCoy is an internationally recognized expert on Venezuelan politics, having authored numerous articles and books as well as leading the Carter Center’s election-monitoring and mediation efforts there since 1998. She focuses on democratization, international collective promotion of democracy and Latin American politics.
“The role of academia is to produce knowledge that can inform reasoned debate and decision-making so crucial to the lightning-fast world of the 21st century,” McCoy said. “The world needs knowledgeable, creative people to tackle the serious, multi-faceted, and often misunderstood issues that will determine the fate of the world and humankind. Conflict often arises from an absence of information, leading to misperceptions and misjudgments of others and their motivations.”
In total this fall, 3,531 students are expected to participate in the bachelor, master and specialist degree ceremony while 101 doctoral candidates participated in the Ph.D. commencement and hooding. The numbers include both summer graduates and fall degree candidates.
For more information on the commencement ceremonies, including directions, parking, what time to arrive and where to assemble, visit www.gsu.edu/commencement.
Published Dec. 8, 2010