[436] MORE THAN 2,200 GRADUATES SET TO PARTICIPATE IN SPRING COMMENCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 27, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Office of News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919

MORE THAN 2,200 GRADUATES SET TO PARTICIPATE IN SPRING COMMENCEMENT
FedEx Trade Networks President/CEO G. Edmond Clark & Brig. Gen. Terry M. Haston
Will Serve as Featured Speakers for Dual-Ceremony Graduation Event at MTSU

(MURFREESBORO)—More than 2,200 degree candidates are expected to graduate during MTSU’s 97th spring commencement during the university’s upcoming graduation ceremonies, reports Dr. Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost, Enrollment Services.
On Saturday, May 9, MTSU will again feature dual ceremonies and dual speakers starting at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Murphy Center. Of the 2,261 set to graduate during the commencement, 1,886 are undergraduates. Sixteen Ph.D. candidates will graduate, as will 286 master’s candidates and 73 education specialist (Ed.S.) candidates.
Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education and Behavioral Science will receive their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon degrees will be conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, said Dr. Diane L. Miller, executive vice provost and chairwoman of the commencement committee.
•G. Edmond Clark, president and CEO of FedEx Trade Networks Inc., which is a subsidiary of the Memphis-based FedEx Corporation, will serve as the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony.
A 26-year employee of FedEx, Clark is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of the company, which is one of North America’s largest-volume customs entry filers and a leading provider of global cargo distribution, trade advisory services and value-added logistics solutions. He has been the head of FedEx Trade Networks since its 2000 formation in 2000. According to his bio, Clark’s vision and leadership led to combining several of the finest regional customs brokerage and international freight-forwarding firms in the United States and Canada, many with histories going back more than a century, to form FedEx Trade Networks. He has led the company as it has grown in size, enlarged its service offerings and expanded its global network. Prior to joining FedEx Trade Networks, Clark held a wide variety of management jobs in finance and operations at FedEx Express, both in the U.S. and in Asia, including manager of investor relations; director of finance for air and hub operations; vice president-finance for Asia, Pacific and Middle East (based in Hong Kong); vice president-corporate financial planning; and senior vice president of operations support and engineering. Clark serves on various industry and education boards, including his role as chairman of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering Alumni Advisory Board. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Houston. Clark has three children, and he and his wife reside in Germantown, Tenn. His eldest son, Edmond, is a 2005 graduate from MTSU with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace, with a professional pilot concentration.
• Brig. Gen. Terry M. “Max” Haston, who was appointed as assistant adjutant general for the U.S. Army on May 6, 2008, will be the featured speaker for the 1 p.m. commencement ceremony. Prior to his current appointment, Haston served as the deputy chief of staff for training and operations for the Joint Forces Headquarters, Tenn.
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A native of McMinnville, Haston currently resides in Knoxville. He was commissioned as an armory officer in the U.S. Army in 1979 from MTSU. Upon completion of his armor officer basic courses at Fort Knox, Ky., he was assigned to the XM-1 project and later, to the 2/5 Calvary, 1st Calvary Division at Forth Hood, Texas, at the rank of tank platoon leader. He went on to serve 3-67 Armor, 2nd Armored Division, where he was a tank platoon leader, company executive officer and support platoon leader, among other leadership roles.
Haston left active duty in 1983 and joined the Tennessee Army National Guard, where he commanded an armored cavalry regiment in Rockwood, Tenn. In ’87, he joined the active guard/reserve program and served as a training officer before joining the 278th Regimental staff in 1989. Ultimately, he became the commander of the 278th ACR (Phantom Raider Squadron) and also served, simultaneously, as the training officer for the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Haston completed resident courses at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa., where he earned a master’s degree in strategic studies, and became commander of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Knoxville. Following this command, he was assigned to serve as the deputy chief of staff for operations at Joint Forces Headquarters. Then, in May 2005, he mobilized and deployed as the chief of reserve components for Multi-National Corps Iraq (XVIII Airborne Corps), where he completed his tour in the Middle East and returned to Joint Forces Headquarters in Knoxville.
Among his numerous honors, Brig. Gen. Haston is the recipient of both Army and Indonesian Parachute Badges, the Tennessee National Guard Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, among many others.
Regarding the upcoming commencement event, Miller said she wanted to remind all degree candidates of the importance of appropriate dress, decorum and respect for the commencement ceremony.
“We believe this is a very important day in the lives of many people,” Miller said. “Commencement is a day that families always remember as special. It is difficult to give the ceremony the dignified atmosphere it deserves if people are using air horns or leaving before the completion of the ceremony.”
Additionally, per Miller, the graduation committee also emphasized that students who participate in commencement will be required to stay for the entire ceremony. The ceremony should last about two hours. If candidates are planning celebration activities, please be aware of this commitment, she said.
“To make this a special day, it requires cooperation from everyone in attendance,” Miller said. “We believe it should be a dignified ceremony, which adds to its enjoyment of all in attendance.”
On May 9, the doors to Murphy Center will open at 8 o’clock for the morning ceremony and candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas, dressed in their caps and gowns, no later than 8:30 a.m. For the afternoon ceremony, the doors will open at noon and candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas and ready at 12:30 p.m.
Officials report that students who are not in their assigned gyms at the proper times will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Because commencement rehearsals are no longer conducted, timely attendance is mandatory for students to receive important instructions.
• For more information about commencement or receiving a degree in absentia, please visit the Records Office Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm. Questions about graduation may be directed to the Records Office at 615-898-2600.

MTSU SPRING 2009 COMMENCEMENT AT A GLANCE

• Who: Approximately 2.261 graduates* (1,886 undergraduates, 375 graduate students)
• What: 2009 MTSU spring commencement • When: 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. May 9 • Where: Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.
• Speakers: G. Edmond Clark, president/CEO, FedEx Networks Inc., at 9 a.m. ceremony and Brig. Gen. Terry M. Haston at 1 p.m. ceremony
*— Approximate number as of March 19, 2009.

ATTENTION, MEDIA: To obtain a jpeg of guest speakers for editorial use, please call the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 or e-mail your jpeg request to gfann@mtsu.edu.