HGTC commencement to celebrate a season of “firsts”
Conway—(May 4, 2017) The first woman president, first graduates of the International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach, and first graduates in cybersecurity and interior design are among the many “firsts” Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) will celebrate Wed., May 10, during 2017 Commencement. The ticketed event will start at 7 p.m., at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, when more than 900 of the 1,400 graduates in 40 programs will march to receive their associate degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Dr. Tim Hardee, president of the S.C. Technical College System, will be a special guest to introduce the new HGTC President, Dr. Marilyn Murphy Fore. Awards for “Professor of the Year” and “Staff Member of the Year” will be announced during the ceremony, and local businessman Robert Rabon, a graduate of HGTC, will be named Patron Emeritus for his support of public education. Rabon, formerly on the Coastal Carolina University Board of Trustees, serves now on the board of Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority. In 2008, he was an advocate on behalf of “The Education Penny” sales tax providing funds for construction and technology in public schools, CCU and HGTC for 15 years. Horry County is the only county to have this source of funds for education.
“The Education Penny” provided funds for a new building to house engineering technology and golf and sport turf programs at HGTC, seed money for the International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach, and funds for an advanced manufacturing center under construction in the Conway.
This is HGTC’s fifty-first commencement.