Texas State prepares for summer 2013 commencement

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
July 24, 2013

Belle S. Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, will be the keynote speaker at one of three commencement ceremonies to be held at Texas State University on Friday, Aug. 9, in the university’s Strahan Coliseum.

Wheelan will speak during the 10 a.m. ceremony, to be attended by degree candidates from the College of Education, the McCoy College of Business Administration and the University College.

Degree candidates from the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Fine Arts and Communication will attend the 2 p.m. commencement ceremony.

Degree candidates from the colleges of Applied Arts, Science and Engineering, and Health Professions should attend the 6 p.m. ceremony.

Texas State President Denise Trauth will deliver remarks at the 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ceremonies.

More than 1,600 students are candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees at Texas State this summer.

Wheelan is the first African American as well as the first woman to serve as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Her career spans more than 30 years and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president and secretary of education for Virginia.

Wheelan received her bachelor’s degree from Trinity University (1972) with a double major in psychology and sociology; her master’s from Louisiana State University (1974) in developmental educational psychology; and her doctorate from the University of Texas (1984) in educational administration with a special concentration in community college leadership.

She holds and has held membership in numerous local, state, and national organizations including Rotary International; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the American College Testing, Inc., board of directors; American Association of Community Colleges’ board of directors; the Lumina Foundation for Education, board of directors; and the President’s Round Table of the National Council on Black American Affairs.