Newest group of graduates to participate in Auburn University’s summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 5
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More than 1,400 students will join the ranks of Auburn University alumni at the 2023 summer commencement ceremonies at Neville Arena on Aug. 5.
Marc Walley, a 1985 Auburn alumnus and president and chief executive officer of Forest Investment Associates (FIA) will deliver the keynote address to 1,441 graduates on the special day. Walley will speak at ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. CT, and the ceremonies will be streamed live on the university’s commencement website.
Each ceremony will feature the conferral of degrees, greetings by university officials, the recognition of students graduating with academic honors and the keynote by Walley. Families and guests are welcomed to attend the Saturday event, with doors opening at 7:30 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 12:30 p.m. for the afternoon festivities. Doors may open earlier in the event of extreme heat.
Ceremony start times for Saturday will be 9 a.m. for the Harbert College of Business, College of Education and Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, with the 2 p.m. ceremony including the College of Agriculture, College of Architecture, Design and Construction, College of Forestry Wildlife and Environment, College of Human Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Nursing and the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
After graduating from Auburn, Walley joined Scott Paper Company in Mobile, where he spent four years supporting its timberland management and strategic operations. Upon joining FIA in 1994, Walley worked alongside a team of investors and industry experts to acquire and expand the company’s portfolio and was eventually appointed to executive vice president and director of timberland management in 2008.
He was named president and chairman of the Executive and Investment Committees in 2016. As president and CEO, he also serves as a member of FIA’s Board of Directors.
Headquartered in Atlanta, FIA oversees more than 2 million acres of timberland investments across 16 states, Brazil and Chile. In addition to managing a forest investment portfolio with a market value exceeding $4.5 billion, Walley and his FIA team are noted experts in sustainability and forest conservation.
Auburn will award a total of 1,441 degrees, including 909 bachelor’s degrees, 403 master’s degrees, 169 doctorates, 22 specialist degrees and one Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
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Auburn University will confer more than 1,440 degrees at its summer 2023 commencement exercises on Aug. 5 at Neville Arena.
Media interested in this story can contact Communications Director Preston Sparks at (334) 844-9999 or preston.sparks@auburn.edu.
Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.
