Regent Kessel D. Stelling Jr., chairman and CEO of Synovus Financial Corporation and a member of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, will deliver the fall undergraduate Commencement address at the University of Georgia on Dec. 13 in Stegeman Coliseum. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the graduate ceremony to follow at 2:30 p.m.
Libby V. Morris, Zell B. Miller Distinguished Professor of Higher Education and director of the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education, will deliver the address at the graduate ceremony.
“Regent Stelling is an exemplary business leader and an inspiring public servant,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “His sound judgment helped to preserve Georgia’s banking industry during the Great Recession, and he continues to make a positive impact on our state and nation in so many ways. We appreciate his long and dedicated leadership as a member, and previous chair, of our governing board, the University System Board of Regents. Our undergraduate students and their families are sure to benefit from his advice.”
Stelling began his career with Synovus, a $48 billion asset bank based out of Columbus, Georgia, in March 2006 and was named president and CEO in 2010. In 2012, he was elected chairman of the company. Under his leadership, Synovus has been named one of American Banker’s most reputable banks for four consecutive years.
Stelling received a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance from UGA and completed the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University. He has served as a member of the UGA Board of Visitors and chair of the Terry College Dean’s Advisory Board.
Graduate ceremony speaker Libby Morris is a seasoned administrator and prolific scholar whose work has addressed educational and economic challenges of the Black Belt South, issues of post-secondary access and persistence, and faculty and leadership development. She has been a faculty member in the Institute of Higher Education since 1989 and was named director in 2006. In 2009, she launched the Georgia College Advising Corps, which has helped more than 28,000 first-generation and underrepresented students enroll in and graduate from college.
Commencement candidates are allowed six tickets per student for the undergraduate ceremony. Tickets are not required for the graduate exercise.
Both ceremonies will follow the Southeastern Conference Clear Bag Policy.