U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to address SC State spring graduates
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will deliver the commencement address.
“We are excited that Secretary Austin has agreed to share his wisdom with our graduating students,” SC State President Alexander Conyers said. “He knows what it means to succeed in the face of tremendous adversity, and our graduates must have the same determination as they set forth on the next phases of their journeys.”
Conyers and SC State Board of Trustees Douglass Gantt also will deliver welcoming remarks at Friday’s ceremony.
The event will be livestreamed on SC State’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/scstate1896.
Instructions for guests
The event is free and open to the public. All guests must be seated by 9:15 a.m., so arriving early is encouraged. Stadium entrances will open at 7:30 a.m.
Everyone entering the campus and the stadium will be subject to security screening. No bags may be taken into the stadium with exceptions for special circumstances including mothers with young children and elderly guests who need access to medication. In such cases, a clear bag policy will be in effect.
In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will move to Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center (SHM). Each graduating student would be issued 10 tickets for family members and guests. Seating in SHM would be limited to ticket holders, and overflow location would be provided with a video feed.
Instructions for news media
All news media must RSVP to Sam Watson, SC State director of university relations, at swatson2@scsu.edu no later than 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Please include the names, email addresses and mobile numbers of all representatives who will be attending Commencement.
Once credentials are approved, further instructions regarding arrival time, parking and other logistics will be provided.
About Secretary Austin
Austin was sworn in as the 28th Secretary of Defense on January 22, 2021. Austin is the principal assistant to President Joe Biden in all matters relating to the Department of Defense and serves on the National Security Council.
Austin was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Thomasville, Georgia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission in the Infantry. He holds a Master of Arts degree in counselor education from Auburn University, and a Master of Business Management from Webster University. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.
His 41-year career in the Army included command at the corps, division, battalion, and brigade levels. Austin was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Seven years later, he assumed the duties of Commanding General of United States Forces – Iraq, overseeing all combat operations in the country.
After a tour as the Army’s vice chief of staff, Austin concluded his uniformed service as the commander of U.S. Central Command, responsible for all military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. In this assignment, he led U.S. and coalition efforts to battle ISIS in Iraq and Syria. He retired from the Army in April 2016.
Since his retirement from military service, Austin has served on the Boards of Directors
for Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, and Tenet Healthcare.