Georgia Highlands College (originally Floyd Junior College in 1970) had a single graduate at the end of its founding year. The first commencement ceremony was in 1971 with GHC’s first president, David McCorkle, and the dean, Wesley Walraven, presiding over the small event in the president’s office on the Floyd campus.

As a special return to the tradition of on-campus commencements, GHC will host the upcoming 2021 graduation ceremony outside at the Floyd campus on Thursday, May 13.

Three separate ceremonies will take place throughout the day. Ceremonies begin at 10AM and 6PM, with the nursing pinning/commencement ceremony beginning at 3PM.

The ceremonies will be held outdoors on the GHC Floyd Campus, located at 3175 Cedartown Highway in Rome. Due to limited seating, attendance will be limited to graduates and four guests per graduate.

GHC ID and/or guest passes are required to enter the venue area. For those who cannot attend in person, livestreams of the ceremonies will be available at highlands.edu and on GHC’s social media channels.

More information can be found on the commencement ceremony page regarding details, directions and campus guidelines.

Regent T. Dallas Smith will bring greetings from the Board of Regents and give the commencement address during the 6PM ceremony.

T. Dallas Smith is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at T. Dallas Smith & Company. He leads all new business development initiatives. His role includes overseeing all brokerage affairs related to the company and providing chief liaison services to key clients.

Dallas, a Georgia State University alumnus, is the Chair of the Real Estate Committee at his alma mater. He also serves on the boards of the Council for Quality Growth and Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS. He has been awarded numerous honors including Atlanta Most Admired CEO in 2017, Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS’ Realtor of the Year in 2018, and Empire Board of Realists Broker of the Year in 2018.