Lee alumna and President of Austin Peay State University Dr. Alisa White will deliver the address at Lee University’s spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 9:30 a.m. on the lawn of the Science and Math Complex (SMC).
Dr. White is an advocate for high-impact higher education practices that promote student success. She has served as a consultant for city governments and Fortune 500 companies, offering workshops on leadership, conflict negotiation, and creative management.
She has also served as provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at Tyler (UTT), as well as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Midwestern State University (MSU).
Prior to joining the Austin Peay faculty, Dr. White served institutions such as the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, the University of West Georgia, the University of Texas at Arlington, MSU, and UTT as a professor, department chair, graduate adviser, dean, and provost.
With extensive experience in comprehensive course redesign, Dr. White’s research has been published in scholarly journals including the Journal of Advertising Research, the Journal of Advertising Education, and the Journal of Creative Behavior.
Dr. White earned her doctorate of philosophy from the University of Tennessee, her master of science from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and her bachelor of arts in business from Lee.
Graduation festivities will begin with a hooding ceremony for students earning graduate degrees. This service is a ticketed event and will take place in the Lee University Chapel on Friday, May 5, at 4:30 p.m.
After the hooding ceremony, all graduates will march in the commissioning service at 6:30 p.m. on the SMC lawn. During commissioning, six graduates will share stories of their Lee experiences, one graduate will perform special music, and all graduates will receive Bibles to commemorate this personal milestone. A reception on the Pedestrian Mall for guests and graduates will follow the service.
The commissioning and commencement services will not require tickets unless inclement weather shifts the ceremony inside of the Paul Dana Walker Arena, where seating is limited. Climate-controlled overflow seating for both services will also be available. Over 530 degrees are set to be conferred, about 80 of which are for graduate students.
The hooding, commissioning, and commencement will be available for live stream viewing at
http://livestream.com/leeu.