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Francis Marion University

FMU is one of South Carolina's 13 state-assisted universities, providing a strong liberal arts based undergraduate education with degrees in the arts, laboratory sciences, business, education and the social and behavioral sciences. We also provide graduate programs in education, business and psychology. FMU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award bachelor's, master's and specialty level degrees. We enroll over 4,000 students in an intimate campus environment near Florence, S.C.

Francis Marion University
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.
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.
Dr. Jo Angela Edwins, professor of English, has been named FMU’s J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor for the 2024-2025 academic year. The announcement was made during an awards ceremony held at the FMU Performing Arts Center Thursday evening. The annual award, named in honor of a former chairman of the FMU Board of Trustees, is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the university. Edwins will also be FMU’s nominee for the South Carolina Governor’s Professor of the Year Award competition. Edwins joined the faculty of Francis Marion in 2004. She served as Assistant Coordinator of First-Year Composition from 2005 to 2013, was named the Pee Dee Federal Savings Bank Professor of English in 2017, and has been Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program since 2024. She teaches a wide range of courses including first-year composition, literature, reading and writing fiction, poetry, and drama, and American poetry. She is the 49th recipient of the Distinguished Professor award. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications from Augusta University in 1992, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Tennessee in 1995, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee in 2001. The Distinguished Professor award is based upon a faculty member’s contributions to teaching, professional service, and scholarly activities. A prolific writer, Edwins has published poems in over 100 journals and anthologies. She is also the author of A Dangerous Heaven, Bitten, and Play. In 2019, she was named a Francis Marion Board of Trustees Research Scholar, and since 2020, she has served as the Poet Laureate of the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina. FMU President Fred Carter praised Edwins for the lasting impact she has had on the university. “Jo Angela is an extraordinary writer and poet whose work has influenced thousands of students over the years,” said Carter. “She is a splendid choice for this highly prestigious award. We are all proud of her success and delighted with her accomplishments.” Dr. Deborah Hopla, Professor of Nursing, was awarded the Charlene Wages Shared Governance Award by the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. This award is given to a faculty member who has made substantial contributions to shared governance at the university. Hopla joined the faculty of Francis Marion in 2012. She is the director of the Family Nurse Practitioner tracks in the Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina’s satellite program at FMU and earned both the Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of South Carolina. Three faculty members were honored for their outstanding individual work during the 2024-2025 academic year. Dr. Hari Rajagopalan, Professor of Management, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching; Dr. Matthew Hagler, Assistant Professor of Psychology, was honored with the Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship; and Dr. Kimberly McCuiston, Associate Professor of Education, received the Award for Excellence in Professional Service. Rajagopalan completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Anna University in 1995, Master of Business Administration at Delhi University in 1999, and both the Master of Science in Computer Science in 2004 and Ph.D. in Information Technology: Operations and Quantitative Management in 2006 from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. Hagler earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English from Sewanee, the University of the South in 2013, the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 2017 and the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2021, both from the University of Massachusetts, and completed a Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical and Community Psychology at the Yale University School of Medicine in 2022. McCuiston received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Maryville College in 1999, a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Tusculum College in 2010, and a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Literacy Studies from the University of Tennessee in 2015. Also during Thursday’s ceremony, five retiring faculty members were recognized and named Professor Emeriti. They are: Tim Hanson, Dr. Barbara L. Holliman, Dr. Samuel H. Howell, Jr., Dr. L. Dawn Larsen, and Dr. Neil F. Riley.
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