Alderman to deliver commencement address

GREENVILLE, N.C.  —   East Carolina University professor Derek H. Alderman will deliver the keynote address at the university’s annual fall commencement, Dec. 18 in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The ceremony will begin with a band concert at 9:30 a.m., followed by the commencement program at 10 a.m.

Derek Alderman

Almost 3,200 degrees will be awarded at fall graduation, according to the ECU registrar’s office. Approximately 2,092 are undergraduate degrees, 1,062 are graduate/professional degrees, and eight are PhD degrees in biomedical sciences. Figures include degrees for those students who completed graduation requirements in the summer, but who will participate in the December commencement ceremony.

Alderman is an associate professor of geography and president of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers. He is the 2009 winner of the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest teaching award given at the university, and a 2008 winner of the Research Award for Outstanding Research and Scholarly Achievement for the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.

Alderman’s publications include “Life along the Kudzu Vine: Nature as Miracle, Menace, and Metaphor,” forthcoming from the University of Georgia Press, and a co-authored book, “Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory,” published in 2008. He has published numerous book chapters and journal articles reflecting his research interests in civil rights, geography, street naming, memorials, representations of space, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Alderman earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Georgia.

In addition to the commencement ceremony, individual unit recognition ceremonies will be held Dec. 18 and 19. For a detailed schedule of these events, visit http://www.ecu.edu/commencement/college_school.cfm.