As the long, hot summer of 2018 winds down, the University of West Georgia will soon celebrate approximately 663 graduates.

Summer commencement ceremonies will be held Thursday, July 26, at 11 a.m. in The Coliseum. UWG President Kyle Marrero will confer approximately 344 undergraduate degrees and 319 graduate degrees.

Dr. Tristan Denley will provide the keynote address for the graduates this summer.

Serving as executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia, Denley takes a hands-on approach on initiatives to impact student success.

Most recently, his work has transformed developmental education and advising at a system scale, using a data informed approach to implement wide varieties of system scale initiatives surrounding college completion.

Prior to moving to Georgia in 2017, Denley served as vice chancellor for academic affairs at the Tennessee Board of Regents from 2013-2017. Before that, he served as vice president for academic affairs at Austin Peay State University.

Denley is from Penzance, England, where he earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Trinity College Cambridge. He has also held positions in Sweden and Canada before coming to the United States.