Commencement Speaker Nomination
The Office of the President seeks the input of the College of Charleston community in selecting appropriate speakers for commencement ceremonies. The Joint Committee on Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients is charged with accepting nominations for honorary degrees and commencement speakers from various college constituencies, including the Faculty Advisory Committee to the President, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, parents, volunteer board members, and the local community. Each nomination should be submitted via the form below. Please do not inform your nominee of this nomination.
In selecting commencement speakers, the College seeks individuals whose professional achievements and personal integrity reflect the values of the College. The Commencement speaker should be a person who is deemed worthy of receiving an honorary degree. Candidates approved for honorary degrees have distinguished themselves in their careers, in service to others, and/or have made significant contributions to the life of the College.
Commencement Speakers do not receive honoraria. If the speaker does not live in Charleston, the College will provide for travel, meals and accommodations.
Nominations are accepted year-round and only need to be submitted once. Nominations for May Commencement must be received by September 30 of the prior year. Nominations for December Commencement must be received by March 31 of the same year. Nominations received after these deadlines will be considered for future commencements. All deliberations of the Commencement Speaker nominations by the Joint Committee will be confidential.
Interested in submitting a nomination? Please complete the Speaker Nomination online form.