by Julie Lineback
The University of West Georgia's spring commencement ceremonies will be held on Saturday, April 25, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in UWG's Coliseum. The ceremony will also be streamed online at www.westga.edu/commencement.php.
Gregory A. Adams
The morning ceremony will feature graduates from the College of Education, College of Arts & Humanities, and the Tanner Health System School of Nursing. Gregory A. Adams will be the keynote speaker.
Adams is executive vice president and one of three Kaiser Permanente group presidents reporting to the Chairman and CEO. He has direct responsibility for Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Region, serving more than 3.8 million members and operating 21 hospitals and 67 medical office facilities. In addition, he oversees the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Region (Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia), which serves more than 550,000 members. Adams also leads Kaiser Permanente’s national Medicare care delivery strategy and has responsibility for the organization’s partnership with the National Basketball Association, the first-ever healthcare partnership with the NBA.
As the chair of the California Hospital Association, Adams serves on the Board of Directors for the California Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, the Health Care Committee of the Bay Area Council, and is a member of the National Association of Health Services Executives.
Adams has a bachelor’s degree from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and a master’s degree in nursing administration from Wichita State University. He speaks regularly on issues related to management, leadership, and healthcare delivery and financing.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle
The afternoon ceremony will feature graduates from the Richards College of Business, College of Social Sciences, and College of Science and Mathematics, at which Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle will be the speaker.
An entrepreneur and former state senator, Lt. Gov. Cagle became Georgia’s 11th lieutenant governor in 2006. As the first Republican in Georgia to serve in that office, he focused his efforts on helping make Georgia a place where businesses could grow and families could prosper. Championing the Charter Systems Act, Lt. Gov. Cagle improved education in our state while providing a path to career technical education for Georgia’s high school students.
Additionally, he launched the Georgia College and Career Academy Network, a partnership between local community leaders, school systems, and Georgia’s technical colleges. The college and career academies provide a relevant and rigorous curriculum aimed at preparing students for a highly skilled, 21st-Century economy upon graduation.
Lt. Gov. Cagle’s leadership has been recognized beyond the state of Georgia as well. After being named one of the 100 most influential Georgians, Lt. Gov. Cagle was one of four public servants in the country to be honored by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools with the Champion for Charters Award.
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