Florence Area Residents Among UA Graduates

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama awarded 1,352 degrees at the fall commencement ceremony held Monday, Dec. 16, in Coleman Coliseum on the Tuscaloosa campus.

Brandt Ayers, editor and publisher of The Anniston Star, gave the commencement address. During the ceremony Ayers received the Henry and Julia Tutwiler Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his exceptional service to the people of Alabama and to the University.

Ayers, a 1959 UA alumnus, has had articles, essays and reviews appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and many other newspapers and magazines. In October 2000, he was inducted into the UA Communication Hall of Fame. His honors also include a Nieman fellowship to Harvard University and serving as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

With this graduating class, UA has awarded more than 183,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university. UA holds commencement ceremonies three times a year.

The following students from the Florence area were listed as candidates to receive degrees:

MASTER’S DEGREE

ATHENS — Leslie Hargrave.

FLORENCE — Geremy Richard Freeman, Mary K. Rogers.

LEXINGTON — Deanna L. Thompson.

MUSCLE SHOALS — Tyanesha Shaintel Anderson.

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

ARDMORE — Richard Ford Taylor II.

ATHENS — Joshua Britt Barley, Jessica Lynn Bush, Crutcher Dunnavant, Samuel Spencer Gates, Kristopher Keith Graviet, Haley Brooke McCurry.

ELKMONT — Charmel Paige Davis, Erin Michelle Hardaway.

FLORENCE — Jennifer J. Cozart, Dave Alan Crittenden, Charles Bradley Jones, Julian Bernard Mitchell, Elizabeth Anne Pitts, Harold Eugene Richardson Jr., Angela Beth Sizemore, Rachel Corinne Swindle, Rachel Corinne Swindle, Laquisha Lashelle Thompson.

KILLEN — Cheryl Leah Smith.

MOULTON — Casey Edward Borden.

MUSCLE SHOALS — Terry Heath Defoor, Jason Keith Morgan, Robert Edward Smith.

RED BAY — John Wesley Hammock, Samantha Alene Hastings, Beth Allison Nichols, Sherre’ Ann Tyler.

RUSSELLVILLE — Jill Elizabeth Baker, Mary Emily Habig, Laurie Jill Morrow, Joseph Scott Pride, Linda C. Underwood, Jonathan Stuart Willis.

TOWN CREEK — Esta’ Jade Stevenson.

TUSCUMBIA — Jennifer Diane Berry, David Edgar Black.

VINA — Jeffrey Wade Barksdale, Kacey Jill Hester, Cheston Lee Turbyfill, Kevin Ashley Wilson.