The University of West Georgia will close another successful fall semester with commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 14.

Interim President Dr. Micheal Crafton will confer approximately 638 undergraduate degrees and 281 graduate degrees at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Coliseum.

The morning ceremony will celebrate graduates from the College of Social Sciences, the College of Arts and Humanities, the Tanner Health System School of Nursing, and the University College. The afternoon ceremony will honor graduates from the Richards College of Business, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of Education.

Mike Dugan, Georgia state senator and UWG alumnus, will address students in both ceremonies with a commencement speech.

Dugan currently serves as the majority leader for the Georgia State Senate and represents district 30, which includes parts of Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties. 

Dugan serves on a number of committee boards: Veterans, Military and Homeland Security; Bank and Financial Institutions; Economic Development and Tourism; Ethics; Reapportionment and Redistricting; and Transportation.

Before serving as a senator, Dugan was president of the Carrollton Kiwanis Club and served on the executive board of the Carrollton Housing Project and the West Georgia Athletic Foundation Executive Committee.

A native of Bowdon, Georgia, Dugan holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in organizational development, both from UWG.

After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Dugan enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. Over the course of his 20 years of service in the Army, Dugan was deployed to more than 32 countries including Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2008.