Retired Senior Vice Chancellor for Student Services and Administration Dr. John Schmidt will deliver the keynote address at Troy University’s Dothan Campus spring commencement exercises Sunday, May 16 at 3 p.m. inside the Dothan Civic Center.

About 117 graduates are expected to walk across the stage during the ceremony, at which social distancing will be observed and masks are required.

Only ticketed guests can attend.

Schmidt recently retired from his position as Senior Vice Chancellor for Student Services and Administration at TROY, and he is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel.

Engaged in teaching students, he crafted a foreign policy course for honors students and has taught numerous leadership courses augmenting class programs. His dissertation resulted in the creation of a Dean of First Year Studies and a campus reading program.

He is the past president of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and implemented the first strategic planning process for economic growth. He is also the past president of the Troy Rotary Club. He is past chairman of the USS Alabama Battleship Commission and past chair of the Alabama Historical Commission.

In the U.S. Marine Corps, he commanded at all levels from Vietnam, Desert Shield/Storm, Bosnia and Haiti. He is a graduate of the Air War College and is an honor graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Further, he was selected by the U.S. Marine Corps to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he earned a master’s degree in journalism. He was awarded the doctorate of education from Nova Southeastern University in fall 2004.

He and his wife Vicki have three adult sons and now have three granddaughters and a grandson.

Members of the media who would like to RSVP can contact Greg Phillips at 334-372-5448.