Commencement exercises at Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 11, in the Mall Area in front of Magale Library on the University campus.
Former state Rep. Joyce Elliott will be the guest speaker. Elliott was elected in November 2000, and she finished her final term in the House on Jan. 8, 2007, due to term limits. She intends to remain active in politics.
A native Arkansan, Elliott was born in Willisville, where she graduated from high school. She earned an undergraduate degree in English and speech from Southern Arkansas University in 1973 and a graduate degree in English from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia in 1981.
For 31 years, Elliott taught high school juniors and seniors. In addition to Arkansas, Elliott taught in Texas, Florida, and Minnesota. In June 2004, Elliott left the classroom and began working for the College Board, focusing on expanding access to AP for students currently underrepresented in AP. Presently, she is the director of Legislative and State Outreach for the Southwest Region of the College Board, with additional outreach responsibilities across the country.
During her tenure in the legislature, she served on committees including the Judiciary; Aging, Youth, and Families; Education, where she chaired the subcommittee on Higher Education; State Agencies; and Budget. In her final term, she was chair of the education committee and served on the committees on Insurance and Commerce; Budget; Personnel; and Energy.
In 2001, Elliott was presented the Little Rock New Party’s Community Service Award. In 2003, the Central Arkansas Labor Council gave her the Marty Schuller Community Service Award for outstanding contribution to the labor community. The same year, the Women’s Legislative Lobby recognized Elliott with its PACESETTER Award for leadership and commitment to the vision of a just, peaceful, and inclusive world, and she was named by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as one of the Ten Best Legislators of the 2003 General Assembly and the 2005 General Assembly. Also in 2003, Elliott received the Working Families Hero Award from Service Employees International Union Local 100 and the Women Who Mean Business Award from Business and Professional Women of Arkansas.
In July of 2004, Elliott, along with 14 other women state legislators from around the country, was chosen to participate in the Foreign Policy Institute for State Legislators sponsored by the Center for Women’s Policy Studies. She was also selected by the Center as one of 16 women, six from the United States and 10 members of Parliaments from 10 other countries, to participate in the GlobalPOWER Class of 2006, which focused on the status of women around the world.
Elliott was honored by the League of United Latin American Citizens with the 2005 President’s Award, named by Power Play magazine as the 2005 Power player of the Year, was honored by the Omni Center for Peace and Justice and Ecology with an Arkansas Heroes Award for Peace and Justice and by the Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits with its Advocacy Award. In October 2005, Elliott was honored by SAU with a Distinguished Alumni Award, by the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame with the Founder’s Award and by the Arkansas Public Service Association with an Advocacy Award.
Recently, she was honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice with its Humanitarian Award 2006 and the Democratic Party of Arkansas Honored her with the Gressie Carnes Democratic Woman of the Year Award. In November 2006, the ACLU-Arkansas named Elliott as the Civil Libertarian of the Year and Gov. Mike Beebe named Elliott as one of the four members of his transition team. On Jan. 11, 2007, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families thanked her service with its 2006 Legislative Friend of Children Award.
The Office of Alumni Relations will sponsor a reception for graduates, family, and faculty from 5 to 6:45 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center.
For more information regarding graduation at SAU, call the Office of the Registrar at 870-235-4031.
