For release: December 4, 2012
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901-678-2843

The University of Memphis will hold its winter Commencement on Sunday, Dec. 16, awarding a total of 1,669 degrees in two ceremonies at FedExForum. That number is part of a record-setting total of 4,322 U of M graduates in 2012.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Scott Morris, founder and executive director of the Church Health Center.

During the 1 p.m. ceremony, the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, the University College and the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will confer degrees.

At 5 p.m., graduates of the Fogelman College of Business & Economics, the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, the Herff College of Engineering, the Loewenberg School of Nursing and the School of Public Health will receive their degrees.

Morris has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, a master of divinity degree from Yale University and a medical degree from Emory University. He is a board-certified family practitioner and an ordained United Methodist minister, and he writes a monthly column for the The Commercial Appeal.

The Church Health Center opened in 1987 to provide quality, affordable healthcare for working, uninsured people and their families. Thanks to a broad base of financial support from the faith community and the volunteer help of doctors, nurses, dentists and others, the Center has grown to become the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the country. Currently the Center cares for more than 55,000 patients without relying on government funding.