University of South Carolina Union will welcome Dr. Ann Carmichael as the commencement speaker for the university’s Commencement Exercises. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 29 at 6:00 pm on the grounds of Patron’s Park at USC Union.
Dr. Ann C. Carmichael began her career in higher education administration at the age of 23. She earned her PhD from The University of South Carolina and her Masters in Student Personnel Services from Clemson University. She served in various capacities in colleges and universities throughout South Carolina and Alabama, including Dean of Students at Judson College in Marion, Alabama and Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Charleston Southern University. She is a graduate of the Furman University Riley Leadership Institute.
Dr. Carmichael joined the USC Salkehatchie administration in 1991, initially serving as Director of the Walterboro Campus and Coordinator of Development, overseeing the institution’s multi-million-dollar capital campaign. After becoming Dean of USC Salkehatchie Dr. Carmichael was instrumental in partnering with the University to bring the four-year nursing program to the campus, building a state-of-the-art student housing complex, increasing enrollment to record numbers, and raising over ten million dollars in private gifts and grants. She retired from the university as Dean Emerita in 2020.
An active participant in the greater Salkehatchie community, Dr. Carmichael serves on the Southern Carolina Regional Economic Development Alliance Board of Directors Executive Committee and is chairman of the Savannah River Site Redevelopment Authority Board. She is also active in her church, having served as chairman of deacons, personnel committee, and trustee. Dr. Carmichael has served as a certified judge for the Miss American Preliminaries and judged numerous pageants. She is a former Miss South Carolina All American Girl and fourth runner up in the national pageant. She was the former Miss Union in the Miss South Carolina Pageant.
Dr. Carmichael has been recognized by the Walterboro-Colleton Chamber of Commerce as Outstanding Contributor to the Field of Education (2000) and was recipient of the Chamber’s Innovation Award in 2014. She and her husband Randy were both recognized by the chamber with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dr. Carmichael received the SC Department of Commerce 2019 Rural Leadership Award at the 29th Annual South Carolina Rural Summit. Upon her retirement, she was recognized by the South Carolina Senate and House of Representatives for her years of dedicated public service to the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie.
Dr. Carmichael is married to Randy Carmichael, and they are the parents of a daughter, Catherine. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, boating, tennis and pickleball.
Attendance at Commencement is by ticket only. The ceremony will begin promptly at 6:00 pm. No children under the age of three will be admitted.
The Bantam Blog 