Senator Harvey Peeler To Speak At Limestone Graduation & Receive Honorary Doctoral Degree

Limestone University is scheduled to hold its spring graduation ceremony at Gaffney High School’s stadium on Saturday, May 7, at 10 a.m., with Senator Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. serving as the commencement speaker.

Senator Peeler, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, will also receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Limestone during the ceremony. The University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to bestow the honor upon Peeler in recognition to his exemplary service to the institution, the Cherokee County community, and the state of South Carolina.

President Dr. Darrell Parker will confer degrees from Limestone’s on-campus, online, and graduate programs.

In order to allow for more guests that the stadium’s larger seating capacity allows, Limestone opted to move its graduation ceremonies outside starting in 2020, instead of inside the smaller Fullerton Auditorium venue on campus. Limestone holds a graduation ceremony in both May and December of each year.

The graduation will also be live-streamed so family and friends unable to be in attendance can view the ceremony. The live-stream link will be available at www.limestone.edu and on all of the University’s social media pages.

Graduates and their families and friends are being encouraged to travel to Limestone following the ceremony to visit the front campus and take commemorative photographs.

A native of Gaffney, Peeler was elected to the South Carolina Senate in November of 1980. District 14 is comprised of his home county of Cherokee, along with portions of Spartanburg, Union and York Counties.  Now, with over 40 years of service in the South Carolina Senate, he sits as the second most senior senator.

In January 2019, Peeler became the first President of the South Carolina Senate. He presided over the 46-member body, a position that was formerly held by the Lt. Governor. 

He accepted the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee in December of 2021. The Finance Committee is arguably one of the most powerful committees in the Statehouse and plays a big role in deciding how South Carolina spends its money every year.

Peeler and his wife, the former Ila LaDonna (Donna) Caudill, are the proud parents of three children: Brantlee Peeler Morgan, H. Smith Peeler III, Boone S. Peeler, and seven grandchildren. He is the son of the late H. Smith Peeler, Sr. and Sally Bratton Peeler of Gaffney. A lifelong dairyman and businessman in Cherokee County, Peeler and his family are members of First Baptist Church in Gaffney. He is both a Mason and a Shriner.

Prior to his election to the South Carolina Senate, he was a member of the Cherokee County Council from 1977-1980. Peeler also served as a lieutenant in the United States Army. In 1970, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University.