Summer commencement ceremonies at Southern Arkansas University are scheduled for 10 a.m. on August 2, 2019, at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
More graduate students are graduating in this ceremony than undergraduates. A total of 129 candidates from the School of Graduate Studies and 54 undergraduate candidates from SAU’s four academic colleges will be recognized.
All candidates should assemble in the Auxiliary Gym of the W. T. Watson Athletic Center no later than one hour before the start of the ceremony. This arrival time will ensure that each candidate is positioned in the line. For those who cannot attend in person, the ceremonies will be livestreamed online at www.SAUmag.edu/Graduation and on SAU’s Facebook (www.SAUmag.edu/fb).
State Representative Sonia Barker will provide the commencement address. Barker represents District 7 which includes a large portion of south Arkansas. An alumnus of SAU, Barker teaches first-semester only 9-12 grade Oral Communications, English Language Arts Drama, and is the coach of the tennis team at El Dorado High School. In the Arkansas Legislature, she has served on the Education Committee, the Transportation Committee, and the Military and Legislative Affairs Committee, which she currently serves as vice-chair. Appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson to the Legislative Advisory Council of the Southern Regional Education Board, and serving on the Union County Community Advisory Panel, Representative Barker has twice received an Arkansas Chamber Business Matters Award.
