Dr. Marshall Priest III, a Huntingdon native and retired interventional cardiologist who lives in Boise, Idaho, will speak at the University of Tennessee at Martin during two fall commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Commencement times are 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and tickets are not required to attend either ceremony. Doors will open 45 minutes before each ceremony begins. Just under 600 total graduates who completed degrees in summer and fall 2025 are eligible to participate in the two ceremonies.
Priest was raised in Carroll County, graduated from Huntingdon High School and completed a bachelor’s degree at UT Martin in 1965. He then earned a master’s degree from UT Knoxville and his medical degree from the UT Health Science Center in Memphis.
Priest’s professional legacy includes his many patients and a cardiology group he helped to establish in Boise. His appreciation for the nursing profession and desire to give back to UT Martin inspired him to establish the Priest Family Clinical Excellence Fund and Endowment in the university’s department of nursing.
The university in turn honored Priest and his family in October by naming a Gooch Hall nursing classroom the Priest Family Clinical Excellence Lab. The lab space includes teaching equipment made possible by gifts from Priest and his wife, Cynthia, a registered nurse.
Dr. Yancy Freeman Sr., UT Martin chancellor, will preside over the two ceremonies and confer degrees. UT President Randy Boyd will bring greetings from the UT System. A sign-language interpreter will provide services for those with hearing loss during both commencement events.
The 10 a.m. ceremony will include undergraduate and graduate-degree candidates from the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, the College of Business and Global Affairs, and the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
The 2 p.m. ceremony will also include undergraduate and graduate-degree candidates and feature graduates from the College of Education, Health and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Each ceremony will be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/utmartin and www.youtube.com/utmartin. The ceremonies will be archived on YouTube for later viewing.
Contact the UT Martin Office of University Relations at 731-881-7615 for additional information.
PHOTO: UT Martin will hold fall commencement exercises during two in-person ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. Commencement times are 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and tickets are not required to attend either ceremony. Dr. Marshall Priest, a Huntingdon native and retired interventional cardiologist who lives in Boise, Idaho, will be the commencement speaker. Priest is pictured talking with Stephanie Morton, campus and simulation lab coordinator, in the Priest Family Clinical Excellence Lab located in Gooch Hall.
