Graduation Ceremonies Set For Dec. 11-13

With the fall semester coming to a close, Limestone College will soon hold three commencement exercises at Fullerton Auditorium.

Limestone will confer a total of 433 degrees during those graduations planned for Dec. 11-13. Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Baines will welcome graduates, family members and guests each day. Mr. Baines is the former President and CEO of Broad River Electric Co-Op.

The day program students will graduate Thursday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. A luncheon at Stephenson Dining Hall will be held for those graduates at 12 noon, and following a 1:30 p.m. rehearsal, Limestone president Dr. Walt Griffin will host a reception in their honor at 2:30 p.m. at the Curtis Administration Building. The commencement speaker on Thursday will be Dave Rilling, Limestone’s Vice President For Financial Affairs. The invocation will be given by Reverend David Weber from Overbrook Presbyterian Church.

On Thursday, Archie D. Fowler will be granted the status of Associate Professor Emeritus of Education by the Board of Trustees. Fowler is retiring after 25 years of teaching and advising Limestone students. A native of Gaffney, Fowler attended Appalachian State University where he received his B.S. in Mathematics and Social Studies Education and an M.A. in Elementary and Secondary Education. He continued his studies at the University of South Carolina, where he received the Ed.S. in Administration.

Also on Thursday, Virginia Bruorton Skinner will be presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service. A native of Georgetown, Skinner earned her B.S. in Chemistry and minored in Physics at Limestone. She was the senior class Vice President, directed the 1949 Limestone Follies, and served as President of the Chi Beta Phi Scientific Honors Society. She was also elected into the Limestone Hall of Fame. She was a member of the Limestone Board of Trustees from 1998 until 2003, and returned to the Board as Senior Trustee in 2011. She played an instrumental role in the restoration of the Winnie Davis Hall of History, which reopened in 2012.

Graduation for the Online & Evening classroom students will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. Those graduates will enjoy a brunch at 10:30 p.m., followed by a campus tour by Dr. Griffin at 12 noon. Following a 1:30 p.m. rehearsal, Dr. Griffin’s reception in their honor will begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday’s commencement address will be delivered by Dr. Gena Poovey, Limestone’s Professor of Choral/Vocal Music Education and Chair of the Department of Music. The invocation will be given by Sister Mary H. Mauldin, Limestone’s Assistant Professor Emerita of Mathematics and Religion.

On Friday, Mary Beth Harllee will be granted the status of Associate Professor Emerita of Social Work by the Board of Trustees. Harllee is retiring after nearly two decades with Limestone, serving as Associate Professor of Social Work and Licensed Master Social Worker. Harllee received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Catawba College. A native of Statesville, NC, she went on to receive her Master’s in Guidance and Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a Master’s in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. After spending 10 years as the department head of CareSouth Health System’s South Carolina Alzheimer’s Program, Harllee came to Limestone’s Online & Evening in Florence in 1997. She helped that site grow to be one of the largest in the Limestone College system.

Also on Friday, Limestone will posthumously present an honorary Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Information Technology to Leon McKnight, Sr. McKnight passed away earlier this year on May 1. He was due to graduate from Limestone’s Online & Evening site in Columbia in June. A Vietnam veteran, McKnight was a native of Pinewood, SC, who resided in Columbia. His widow, Rosetta McKnight, will accept the honorary degree on her late husband’s behalf.

The Online & Evening internet students will graduate on Saturday, Dec. 14, and will follow the same schedule as the Online & Evening classroom students. Saturday’s speaker will be Dr. Randy Nichols, Limestone’s Assistant Professor of Professional Communication and Chair of the Department of Professional Communication and Interdisciplinary Studies. The invocation will be given by Dr. Bob Lewis, Limestone’s Assistant Professor of Spanish and Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion.