SWT prepares for summer commencement

SAN MARCOS – Noted trial attorney Shelton E. Padgett will serve as the keynote speaker during three commencement ceremonies to be held Aug. 8 and 9 at Southwest Texas State University.

Degree candidates from the College of Fine Arts and Communication and the College of Liberal Arts will attend the ceremony to be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8. Candidates from the colleges of Education, Health Professions and Science will attend the 9:30 a.m. ceremony Saturday, Aug. 9. Candidates from the colleges of Applied Arts and Business Administration will attend the 2 p.m. ceremony on Saturday.

There are 1,454 candidates for graduation this summer at SWT.

Padgett is a partner in the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &Feld and is head of the firm’s labor and employment practice group in San Antonio.

He is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is past chair of the Labor Law Advisory Commission, which passes on the certification of lawyers to be labor and employment law specialists. In 1991 he became a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, signifying, among other things, his experience in trying more than 40 jury cases to verdict. Padgett is the only management labor lawyer in Texas who is both board certified in labor law and a member of ABOTA.

Padgett received a bachelor’s degree in political science from SWT in 1970, and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the university in 2002. He attended law school at St. Mary’s University on a full academic scholarship, served as vice president of the student body and graduated second in his class in 1973. Since that time, he has become one of the top trial lawyers in the nation, arguing before the United States Supreme Court and serving as lead trial counsel in several high profile class-action lawsuits.

The student speaker for Friday night’s ceremony will be William “Trey” Brant, who will receive a bachelor of arts degree with a major in philosophy and a bachelor of science degree with a major in psychology.

The student speaker for the 9:30 a.m. ceremony Saturday will be Adam Ferguson, who will receive a bachelor of science with a major in wildlife biology.

The student speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony Saturday will be Jonathan Ede, who will receive a bachelor of science with a major in criminal justice.