Samford President to Speak at UA’s Summer Commencement Aug. 12

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Thomas E. Corts, president of Samford University, will be the featured speaker for The University of Alabama’s summer commencement ceremony Monday, Aug. 12, at Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus.

Corts will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters during the 9 a.m. ceremony. Approximately 1,000 degrees will be conferred.

Corts has gained attention recently in his role as chairman of Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, a non-profit, public interest organization devoted to updating the Constitution of the State of Alabama.

Corts was named president of Samford in 1983, after serving as president of Wingate College in North Carolina for nine years. He has served as chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities, and is a past president of the National Fellowship of Baptist Educators. Also, he is vice-chairman of the President’s Advisory Council of the Association of Governing Boards.

His numerous honors include the Outstanding Educator Award in Alabama, Citizen of the Year Award, the National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education’s Most Supportive President Award, and induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor.

Corts holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College of Kentucky, and a master’s and Ph.D. from Indiana University.

For more information, go to the Commencement Web site at www.registrar.ua.edu/commencement/.