PAINE COLLEGE
ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIRST COMMENCEMENT CONVOCATION
THE GILBERT-LAMBUTH MEMORIAL CHAPEL
THE SEVENTH OF MAY IN THE YEAR
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING
DR. CHERYL EVANS JONES, PRESIDENT
Class Motto
THE CLASS OF 2023
“A time to remember. An accomplishment to celebrate. An HBCU to experience. 2023 was a class worth waiting for.
”
Programme
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, Presiding
Posting of Colors.............................................................................Laney High School JROTC Color Guard Sergent Major LaCount Bly
National Anthem
Processional: War March of the Priests-from Athalia......................................................arr. F. Mendelssohn
Prayer Mr. Joseph Washington, ‘19 Educator, C.H. Terrell Academy
Scripture Lesson: Proverbs 4:10-15 CEB
Mr. Antonio Lewis Sr., ‘85 Commissioner, Augusta Richmond County
Greetings Dr. Lester G. Jackson, III
Vice Chair of the Paine College Board of Trustees
Tribute to the Senior Class Ms Logan Crawford, ‘23 Senior Class President
Introduction of the Speaker
Musical Selection
Convocation Address
Dr. Phyllis W. Anderson, Artistic Director
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones
The Augusta Chorale of Georgia
Trustee Michael L. Thurmond '75 Chairman, Paine College Board of Trustees Chief Executive Officer, DeKalb County
Presentation of Candidates
Conferring of Degrees
Valedictory Address
Dr. Marci Middleton Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones
Ms. Ch’Erykah Dunn, ‘23
Induction of the Class of 2023
Mr. Derrick Gross, ‘93 President, Paine College National Alumni Association
Recognitions and Presentations
A Tribute to LaKeisha Butts
Julius S. Scott Award
The President’s Award
Charge to the Class of 2023
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones
The Paine College Hymn Frank G. Yerby ’37 (See Back Cover)
The Benediction..................................................................................................Rev. Dr. Luther B. Felder, II Campus Pastor, Paine College
Recessional: March from “Aida” ...............................................................................................arr. G. Verdi
Rian LeShawn Hayes
Class of 2023
Candidates for Degrees
2022-2023
BACHELOR OF ARTS
HUMANITIES
Za’Kimya Nydasha Black
English
MEDIA STUDIES
Marnetta Shanice Lee Mass Communications
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Sanquice Rayonna Walker
Psychology Sociology
Adrianna Keiara Peterson Natoshia Monique
Washington
Psychology
Emanuel Bryce Wilson
Sociology
Sociology
Honors Program Graduate † Cum Laude †† Magna Cum Laude ††† Summa Cum Laude
in the graduation
*
Disclaimer: The names that appear
program are presumptive of graduation but not conclusive
Robert Bluntson, III
Candidates for Degrees
2022-2023
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Tavaris Alonzo Lee Mack
Business Administration Business Administration
Logan Mariah Crawford Marckel Tiareke McCollum Business Administration Business Administration
Joshua Avelino Cruz Raposo
Jalen Starr Peters Business Administration Business Administration
Monterria Quanorra Daniels
Michael Eugene Rounds, Jr.
Business Administration Business Administration
Ch’Erykah Lanyjah Kantranice Dunn ††
Antonnio Sanders, Jr. Business Administration Business Administration
Gregory Jack
Walter Derrell Thomas, Jr. Business Administration Business Administration
Kerra Noreese Johnson
Arieyana Lee Zachery † Business Administration Business Administration
MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Angel Heard Biology
*Honors Program Graduate † Cum Laude †† Magna Cum Laude ††† Summa Cum Laude Disclaimer: The names that appear in the graduation program are presumptive of graduation but not conclusive.
Honors
Valedictorian
The Valedictorian is the graduating senior with the highest-grade point average in the class who has completed two-thirds of the Common Curriculum requirements and two-thirds of the major field requirements on the main campus.
Ch’Erykah Lanyjah Kantranice Dunn
Salutatorian
The Salutatorian is the graduating senior withthe second highest grade point average inthe class who has completed two-thirds of the Common Curriculum requirements and two-thirds of the major field requirements on the main campus.
Arieyana Lee Zachery
Magna Cum Laude
The following members of the Class of 2023, having earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 to 3.79, are granted their degrees with High Honors (Magna Cum Laude). They are wearing two (2) gold cords.
Ch’Erykah Lanyjah Kantranice Dunn
Cum Laude
The following members of the Class of 2023, having earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 to 3.49, are granted their degrees with Honors (Cum Laude). They are wearing one (1) gold cord.
Arieyana Lee Zachery
Michael L. Thurmond DeKalb County CEO
Michael L. Thurmond is the chief executive officer of DeKalb County, Georgia, one of the largest and most diverse counties in the Southeastern United States. As CEO, Thurmond ushered in a “New Day” of trust, accountability and integrity in the county government. is also an attorney, author and motivational speaker.
has implemented an innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic that includes:
Mitigating food insecurity by distributing 57,000 boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein to struggling families.
Administering 10,000 COVID-19 vaccinations through the “Get Vaxxed!” incentive program. prevention initiatives that included bonuses and front line pay for police,
fire and other essential workers.
• Distributing $24 million in rental assistance to 2,500 tenants and landlords
• Creating 3,000 virtual summer jobs for young job seekers.
CEO Thurmond, a sharecropper's son, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion from Paine College and a Juris Doctor degree from the Universityof South Carolina School of Law. Thurmond also completed the Political Executives program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is currently serving as Chairman of Paine College Board of Trustees.
He earned the reputation of being a “turnaround expert” after transforming the culture and operations of theGeorgiaDivision ofFamilyandChildren Services, theGeorgiaDepartment of Laborand theDeKalb County School District.
In 1986, Thurmond became the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Athens/Clarke County since Reconstruction. In 1998, he was elected Georgia Labor Commissioner, becoming one of the first African Americans to be elected to statewide office in Georgia.
Thurmond’s book, Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865, was awarded the prestigious Georgia Historical Society’s Lilla Hawes Award. In 2004, the Georgia Center for the Book listed Freedom as “One of the Twenty-Five Books All Georgians Should Read.” In 2020, The Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council awarded Thurmond a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the research and preservation of African American Georgia history.
He is married to Zola Fletcher Thurmond, and they have one daughter, Mikaya.
Mission Statement
Paine College is a private institution steeped in the tenets of Methodism that provides a liberal arts education of the highest quality. The College emphasizes academic excellence, ethical and spiritual values, social responsibility, and personal development to prepare spiritually centered men and women for positions of leadership and service.
The Paine College Ideal
To love truth and to seek it above material things;
To ennoble and be ennobled by common fellowship;
To keep the energies of life at full tide;
To cultivate an appreciation of the beautiful;
To work well and play with zest;
To have an open, unprejudiced mind;
To live simply, practicing a reasonable economy;
To find joy in work well done;
To be an earnest disciple in the school of Him who brings the abundant Life;
To work diligently for a better understanding of the White and Black races.
Such is the spirit and ideal of Paine College.
To all who share this spirit and are eager for the pursuit of high things, We offer a hearty welcome.
The Paine College Ideal was originally developed by a faculty committee appointed by President E. C. Peters in 1933 and was revised by the Board of Trustees at the Spring meeting in 2003.
Paine College is affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church.
History of the College
The history of Paine College is tied to the history of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. Immediately after the Civil War, Black members of the Methodist Episcopal Church-South formed the Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church. Then, realizing the need for an institution of learning for the newly freed persons, Bishop Lucius H. Holsey and other leaders of the CME Church requested assistance of the Mother Church in the organization and support of a school.
In 1880, the Methodist Episcopal Church- South appointed a commission of clergy and lay persons to cooperate with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in establishing an educational institute to train Black ministers and teachers. Bishop Lucius H. Holsey and leaders of both denominations then began work on what Paine College Trustee, the late Bishop Joseph C. Coles, Jr., termed a "holy audacity."
In 1882, each church appointed three of its members to a committee which established The Paine Institute, named in honor of Bishop Robert Paine. The institute was incorporated in June 1883. In January 1884, class began in rented quarters at 10th and Broad Streets in Augusta, Georgia. The present campus site on Fifteenth Street was acquired in 1886.
In 1903, The Paine Institute was re-charted as Paine College. However, there were no public schools for Blacks at that time, and Paine continuedto providesecondaryeducation as well as college work for students. It was not until 1945, when the first public high school for Blacks was opened in Augusta, that Paine discontinued preparatory programs.
Paine College has a long-standing tradition of interracial cooperation. Dr. John Wesley Gilbert, Paine's first student and first graduate, furthered his education at Brown University and Athens, Greece, and returned in 1888 to become the first Black faculty member. Since that time, the faculty has been interracial and international. Throughout its history, Paine has been a distinctively Christian college. It has maintained deep concern for the quest for truth and has been
resolute in blending knowledge with values and personal commitment. Paine has been historically dedicated to the preparation of holistic persons for responsible life in society.
There have been 17 presidents over 15 terms at Paine College. They are:
Morgan Callaway
George Williams Walker
1882-1884
1884-1911
John D. Hammond 1911-1915
D. E. Atkins........................................1915-1917
Albert Deems Betts 1917-1923
Ray S. Tomlin.....................................1923-1929
E. C. Peters
1929-1956
E. Clayton Calhoun............................1956-1970
Lucius H. Pitts....................................1971-1974
Julius S. Scott, Jr. ...............................1975-1982
William H. Harris...............................1982-1988
Julius S. Scott, Jr. ...............................1988-1994
Shirley A. R. Lewis............................1994-2007
George C. Bradley..............................2008-2014
Samuel Sullivan..................................2015-2017
Jerry L. Hardee...................................2017-2019
Cheryl Evans Jones ........................ 2019-Present
Upon his retirement as President in 1994, Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr., was elected President Emeritus by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Shirley A. R. Lewis was elected President Emerita by the Board of Trustees in April 2010.
During interim periods, the following persons served as chief administrators and chairpersons of the interim committees:
Stewart B. Gandy, Chairman
October-December 1970
Canute M. Richardson, Chairman
January-June 1971
Canute M. Richardson, Acting President
March-December 1974
Curtis E. Martin, Interim President
July-December 2007
Samuel Sullivan, Interim President
September 2014-April 2016
Paine College is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), having been awarded Accredited Status as a Category II Institution by the TRACS Accreditation Commission on October 27, 2020.
Academic Heraldry
The history of traditional academic dress may be traced to the 12th century when Oxford University was founded and to the medieval European universities of the 14th century. Although European universities follow varied patterns in cut and color of gown and type of headdress, academic dress at American colleges and universities is standardized.
The traditional academic gown is usually black; the pattern varies with the degrees held. Although there is much variation, the traditional bachelor's gown has a simple design, with long, pointed sleeves as its distinguishing mark. The master's gown has oblong sleeves with the rear cut square and the front featuring a cutaway arc.
The most elaborate academic costume is the doctoral gown, with velvet panels down the front and three velvet bars across the sleeves. The velvet is usually black, but it may be a color designating the subject to which the degree pertains or one of the school's colors.
The hood of the doctoral gown features velvet trimmings, the width of which designate the level of the degree. The color of the hood indicates the major field of study, and its lining identifies the institution that granted the degree.
The following colors are associated with the various academic disciplines:
Arts, Letters, Humanities.................................White Business, Commerce, Accountancy Drab Education .................................................Light Blue Journalism....................................................Crimson Library Science..............................................Lemon Music..................................................................Pink Philosophy Dark Blue Psychology.........................................................Gold Public Health.........................................Salmon Pink Science..............................................Golden Yellow Social Science.................................................Cream Social Work Citron Theology........................................................ Scarlet
