The following students from Covington graduated from Mercer University’s Tift College of Education during the College’s commencement on May 23 on the University’s Atlanta campus. Mercer President William D. Underwood conferred the degree. Kelly C. Henson, executive secretary of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, delivered the keynote address to the College’s 281 graduates.

Graduates were Sondra L Glenn, Bachelor of Science in Education; Donna F. Gregg, Bachelor of Science in Education; Dana J. Flanagan, Bachelor of Science in Education; Donna Ann Wilson, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Ruth Phillips Scott, Summa Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Lori K. Boling, Summa Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Alisha Marie Hall, Bachelor of Science in Education; Tammy Evette Rogers, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Ashley D. Cole, Magna Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education, Heather Parker Walker; Master of Education; Tonia Marie Middlebrooks, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Melanie Elizabeth Patterson, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education; Tameka LaTrece Smith, Specialist in Education; Vanessa Olave-Coleman, Master of Arts in Teaching; Constance Denise Rogers, Master of Arts in Teaching; Jo Ann Walker Thompson, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education.

In all, the University held nine ceremonies in May in Macon and Atlanta and conferred approximately 1,700 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

Mercer’s Tift College of Education is the largest private preparer of teachers in Georgia and offers a variety of professional education programs at its six sites. The College is also the University’s largest, with more than 1,750 students, and has earned the highest accreditation in the nation from The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The College offers diverse programs and degrees, ranging from initial certification programs to Ph.D. In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Education, which leads to initial certification, the school offers a Master of Education, Master of Arts in Teaching, Specialist of Education and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, as well as a joint Master of Science in School Counseling with the College of Continuing and Professional Studies. The College will launch a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in the fall of 2009.