College President Dr. Jim Dawson at Commencement 2003

For more information, contact James Jolly, director of marketing & communications, 843.383.8018

Don Herriott

Hartsville, SC - More than 130 students are expected to participate in Coker College’s 96th Commencement on Saturday, May 8 at 9 a.m. on the school's Administration Building Lawn. Don Herriott, president and general manager of global pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche Carolina, will deliver the keynote address. He will also be awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Herriott assumed his present responsibilities at Florence, SC-based Roche Carolina in 1996. He received a B.S. degree in physics with honors and distinction from Sonoma State University of California and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2003. Herriott has been with Roche in various capacities since 1994 when it acquired the pharmaceutical firm SYNTEX. Roche Carolina is a division of Roche Holdings, based in Basel, Switzerland.

A past member of the Coker College board of trustees, Herriott is a board member of the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors, the Palmetto Institute, the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation, and Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center. He chaired the Governor’s Workforce Education Task Force and co-chaired the Governor’s Interim Workforce Implementation Task Force. His son, Matthew, is a 2001 Coker College graduate.

Dr. Howard Tucker

Frederica McClary

During Coker’s 96th Commencement, the college faculty will present the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in recognition of excellence of character and service to humanity to retired Hartsville optometrist Dr. Howard Tucker and to graduating senior Frederica McClary of Manning, SC. Additionally, the Class of 2004 will present the annual Master Professor Award to a distinguished member of the faculty.

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