PENDLETON — Dr. Ronnie L. Booth, president of Tri-County Technical College, will deliver the College’s summer commencement address Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. at Clemson University’s Littlejohn Coliseum.
Approximately 349 students will receive degrees, diplomas and/or certificates. In addition to families and guests of the graduates, alumni and other friends of the College are invited to attend the ceremony.
Dr. Booth became the College’s third president on July 1, 2003. During his fourteen years at Tri-County, Dr. Booth has launched three community campuses, three Workforce Training Centers, an Economic Development Center, and a state-of-the-art Industrial Technology Center.
In addition, he has led the establishment of several groundbreaking initiatives, including the nationally-recognized Bridge to Clemson program with Clemson University and the Connect to College program for high school dropouts.
A native of Aiken, Dr. Booth holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration, a master’s in education in student personnel services, and a Ph.D. in higher education leadership and policies from the University of South Carolina. He also holds a master of arts in theological studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Clemson University.
He is active in a number of professional associations, civic groups and state and national boards, including the Board of Trustees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; Executive Committee of the Upstate SC Alliance; Board of Directors for Anderson County Economic Development, Duke Energy Upstate Regional Advisory Board; Alliance Pickens, WorkLink, Oconee Economic Alliance, SENIOR Solutions, Community Colleges of Appalachia, Partnership for Academic and Career Education, and Tamassee DAR School. He is a former member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and former chair of the AACC Finance Committee, Leadership South Carolina Board of Directors and Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce.
In 2015, he was named the Southern Region winner of the Chief Executive Officer Award by the Association of Community College Trustees. He is the recipient of the 2017 Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award.
He is married to Sara Booth and they have two adult daughters, Ashley and Erin. They make their home in Anderson.