The University of Tennessee at Martin will hold spring commencement exercises during two in-person ceremonies Saturday, May 4, 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 event begins.
Cary E. Vaughn, CEO and president of Love Worth Finding Ministries Inc. of Memphis, will be the commencement speaker at both ceremonies. Approximately 570 total graduates are expected to participate in the two ceremonies.
Vaughn of Millington holds a bachelor’s degree from Lambuth University (now the University of Memphis Lambuth) and leads the worldwide LWF radio, TV and internet ministry that reaches 196 countries, audiences across all social media platforms, and broadcasts on 2,500 radio outlets. Last year, LWF received 24 million views on YouTube. He led the LWF 30th Anniversary Campaign and serves as board chairman for LWF-Canada.
Vaughn has served with the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development representing the Southwest Region. In addition, he chaired the Shelby County Suburban Chamber Alliance from 2012 to 2017, working in a collaborative effort to promote rural communities. He has been an active board member and vice chair of the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, and he recently served for six years on the EDGE Board of Directors for Memphis and Shelby County. He was appointed to the Blue-Ribbon Ethics Committee of Shelby County.
Vaughn is major donor to UT Martin and is a 2012 UT Martin WestStar Leadership Program graduate. He is a member of the WestStar Board of Directors and is past chair of the WestStar Alumni Council. He also serves on the UT Martin Ned Ray McWherter Institute Board of Directors.
Dr. Yancy Freeman Sr., UT Martin chancellor, will preside over the two ceremonies and confer degrees. Carey Whitworth, vice president for government relations and advocacy, will represent the UT System. A sign-language interpreter will provide services for the hearing impaired during both commencement events.
The 10 a.m. ceremony will include undergraduate and graduate-degree candidates from the colleges of agriculture and applied sciences, business and global affairs, and humanities and fine arts. The 2 p.m. ceremony will also include both undergraduate and graduate-degree candidates and feature graduates from the colleges of education, health and behavioral sciences, and engineering and natural science. 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.
