Governor Haslam to Deliver Commencement Address at Southwests 2017 Graduation

Southwest Tennessee Community College is excited to announce Governor Bill Haslam has graciously agreed to serve as Southwest’s 2017 Commencement Speaker. Haslam led the charge for making Tennessee the first state to offer tuition-free college for graduating high school seniors by creating Tennessee Promise. This year’s commencement will mark the first graduating class of Tennessee Promise students.

Bill Haslam with Tennessee Promise Students

“We are honored that Governor Haslam will be our 2017 Commencement Speaker”, says Southwest President, Dr. Tracy Hall. “His leadership has propelled education reform in the State of Tennessee into a national model and Southwest is committed to ensuring that his goal is fulfilled here in West Tennessee.”

Southwest has made changes to the graduation plans for Spring 2017. In addition to the Governor speaking, Southwest is proud to announce that graduation will be brought back to the Great State of Tennessee, with Commencement being held at the FedExForum in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. The Lander’s Center in Southaven, Mississippi has previously hosted the graduation exercises for several years.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of all of our graduates and see this as a wonderful opportunity to make this graduation very special for them as they move forward with the next stages of their lives”, says Jacqueline Faulkner, Vice President of Student Affairs.