Rep. Henry Brown to deliver commencement address
U.S. Congressman Henry E. Brown Jr.will deliver the commencement address and receive the honorary degree Doctor of Public Service. Educators Edward M. Singleton and John W. Dawsey will receive honorary degrees of Doctor of Public Service, and mystery writer Mickey Spillane will be awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Brown was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, representing the 1st District of South Carolina, which includes portions of Horry and Georgetown counties, as well as Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester. He sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Budget Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee. After re-election to the 108th Congress in 2002, Congressman Brown was chosen to serve as chair of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Benefits.
Singleton is chancellor emeritus of Coastal Carolina University. He served as Coastal's chief administrative officer for 20 years, longer than any other leader of the institution. He is a former commissioner of the Big South Conference, a member of the Coastal Educational Foundation board and a former member of the USC Board of Trustees. He was educated in Horry County schools and earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the University of South Carolina. Coastal's main administration building is named in his honor.
Dawsey, former superintendent of education for Horry County, served on the Horry County Higher Education Commission for nearly 30 years. In addition to his service as chair, Dawsey has been chair of several committees including the academic, nominating and executive committees. He has been mayor of Aynor since 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree from Clemson University and master's and education specialist's degrees from Appalachian State University. He was awarded the state's highest civilian award, the Order of the Palmetto, last fall.
Spillane, an internationally famous crime/mystery author, lives in Murrells Inlet, where he continues to write his popular novels. With a diverse career that has included stints as a circus trampoline performer and a federal agent, Spillane has more than 25 novels to his credit, about half of those in the Mike Hammer private eye series, which he began in 1947. His most recent novel is "Something's Down There," published last fall.
In case of inclement weather, the commencement ceremony will be split into two ceremonies, both in Kimbel Gymnasium in the Williams-Brice Recreation Center. The first ceremony, at 9 a.m., will be for degree candidates in the Wall College of Business and the Spadoni College of Education and Interdisciplinary Studies. The second ceremony at 1 p.m. is for candidates in the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, College of Natural and Applied Sciences.
The ceremony will be broadcast live over the Web site at www.coastal.edu. For more information, contact the Office of Marketing Communications at 349-2015.