FMU to present honorary degrees at spring 2025 Commencement ceremonies

Francis Marion University will hold commencement ceremonies for its spring 2025 graduating class on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. Both ceremonies will be held in the Smith University Center on campus and include graduates from the university’s four academic schools and college.

Students from the School of Business and School of Health Sciences will receive their degrees during Friday evening’s ceremony. Carl Humphries, CEO of HopeHealth, will serve as commencement speaker and will be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities.

Humphries joined the HopeHealth organization in 2000. Under his 25 years of leadership, HopeHealth has grown from six employees to over 800, and has become one of the state’s largest Federally Qualified Health Centers, serving multiple counties including Florence, Darlington, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Williamsburg. He received both his bachelor’s degree and Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina.

During Saturday morning’s ceremony, students from the College of Liberal Arts and School of Education will graduate. South Carolina Governor Henry Dargan McMaster will deliver the commencement address and be presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humanities.

Governor McMaster was elected to his first full-term as governor in November 2018 and re-elected in November 2022. Prior to his election as governor, McMaster was elected lieutenant governor in 2014 and attorney general of South Carolina in 2002 and 2006. He was also appointed a U.S. attorney in 1981, and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of South Carolina and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

FMU President Fred Carter will deliver remarks during each ceremony.

The ceremonies are scheduled as follows:

Friday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m.: School of Business and School of Health Sciences

Saturday, May 3 at 10:00 a.m.: School of Education and College of Liberal Arts