UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

Former Commissioner of Education to Speak at UT Tyler Commencement

Follow @UTTylerTweet

April 28, 2016

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

Dr. Shirley J. Richardson, former Texas commissioner of education, will deliver the commencement address for the Colleges of Business and Technology, Education and Psychology and Engineering at The University of Texas at Tyler, President Rodney H. Mabry announced.

More than one thousand degree candidates will be recognized in the UT Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center scheduled May 6 and 7.

Richardson will speak at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, May 7.

Richardson was named the Texas commissioner of education in 2004. During her three years as commissioner, she served as the head of the Texas Education Agency, which oversaw 1,037 school districts, 200 charter schools and 4.6 million children. Richardson retired on September 1, 2007 after 37 years in public education. She served as an elementary school teacher, assistant principal and principal before becoming the superintendent of Galena Park Independent School District in 1995 – the same district where she attended school during childhood. Among many accolades, Richardson was named the Texas Association of School Boards' 2003 Superintendent of the Year, and she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in October 2006. Galena Park also named Dr. Shirley J. Williamson Elementary School in her honor, using her maiden name.She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston.

Fred Smith, founder and president of the Tyler-based international organization The Gathering, will deliver the commencement address for the Colleges of Nursing and Health Sciences and Arts and Sciences.
Smith spent several years as a teacher and administrator at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina and The Stony Brook School in New York. In addition, he co-founded the Leadership Network, where he served as president, and he was also the founder of Fourth Partner, a local foundation focused on philanthropy and community development within East Texas. Smith is a graduate of Denver University and Harvard Divinity School.

The spring 2016 commencement schedule is:

• College of Nursing and Health Sciences – 3 p.m. May 6
• College of Arts and Sciences – 6 p.m. May 6
• College of Business and Technology – 10 a.m. May 7
• Colleges of Education and Psychology and Engineering – 1 p.m. May 7

President Mabry will give remarks and confer degrees. Dawn Franks, president of Your Philanthropy, and Carroll Roge´, corporate vice president of marketing and planning of East Texas Medical Center Regional Health Care System, will give alumni association presentations.

One of the 14 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.