CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University graduates, their family members and friends will gather at the university’s campus in Central Saturday, Dec. 7, for a graduation ceremony at Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center Auditorium.
The ceremony, for both on-campus and online students, will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center Auditorium.
The speaker will be Dr. Paula Preusz Lemons, associate professor at the University of Georgia in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a 1994 Southern Wesleyan University alumna.
Since joining the UGA faculty in 2009, Lemons has taught Introductory Biochemistry as well as graduate-level courses. In addition to her degree from Southern Wesleyan, Lemons earned her PH.D. in biochemistry from the University of Kentucky in 1999 and did post-doctoral work at Duke University. In July 2019, the White House presented Lemons with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), presented to outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology. Lemons’ research is particularly focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) higher education in the context of Biology and Biochemistry. In 2015 she was honored with the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Excellence in Teaching Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. On Sept. 28, the Southern Wesleyan University Alumni Association presented Lemons with the Professional Excellence Award from the College of Arts and Sciences – Division of Science. She is married to Derrick, also a 1994 SWU graduate, and they have two sons.
Dr. Todd Voss, Southern Wesleyan University’s president, said, “Bringing faithful SWU alumni back as commencement speakers to inspire and encourage our graduates has become a signature capstone experience at SWU.”
All graduation guests will be required to have a ticket for admittance to the ceremony. Guests without tickets will be directed to the overflow areas to view the ceremony on a closed-circuit broadcast.
