By Joan C. McKinney, director of university communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — General James T. Conway, commandant of the United StatesMarine Corps, will be Campbellsville University’s commencement speaker Saturday,May 10 at 10 a.m. on the HIG Field.
Campbellsville University’s master’s students will graduate at 7 p.m. Friday, May 9 in the Ransdell Chapel. The speaker for that ceremony is Dr. Dwayne Howell, associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at CU.
Degrees will be conferred upon 309 students following completion of the requirements for graduation.
Conway will be speaking at the undergraduate ceremony May 10 which will feature 215 graduates; the ceremony May 9 will be for 94 graduate students.
The Graduate Picnic will be at 5 p.m. Friday, May 9 on the Montgomery Library Lawn. Each graduate will receive four free tickets with individual tickets at $5 each. The deadline for reserving tickets is May 2.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is the highest ranking officer
in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The CMC reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy.
The Commandant is responsible for the total performance of the Marine Corps. This includes the administration, discipline, internal organization, training, requirements, efficiency and readiness of the service. The Commandant also is responsible for the operation of the Marine Corps material support system.
The CMC is responsible for ensuring the organization, policy, plans and programs for the Marine Corps as well as advising the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy on matters involving the Marine Corps.
Under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, the CMC also designates Marine personnel and resources to the commanders of Unified Combatant Commands.
The Commandant is nominated by the President and must be confirmed by majority vote from the Senate. By statute, the commandant is appointed as a four-star General.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff also act in an advisory military capacity for the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff acts as the chief military advisor to the President and the Secretary of Defense. In this strictly advisory role, the Joint Chiefs constitute the second-highest deliberatory body for military policy, after the National Security Council, which includes the President and other officials besides the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
The Marine Corps headquarters is located in Arlington, Va., and includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps and various agencies and staff functions.
Conway’s company grade assignments have included multiple platoon and company commander billets with both the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions; Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63); series and company commander at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego; aide to the Commanding General, and Director, Sea School.
Conway, who was born in Walnut Ridge, Ark., is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. He was commissioned in 1970 as an infantry officer.
As a field grade officer, he commanded two companies of officer students and taught tactics at The Basic School; he also served as operations officer for the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit to include contingency operations off Beirut, Lebanon; and as Senior Aide to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he was reassigned to the 2d Marine Division as Division G-3 Operations Officer before assuming command of 3d Battalion, 2d Marines in January 1990. He commanded Battalion Landing Team 3/2 during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Selected for colonel, he served as the Ground Colonels’ Monitor, and as Commanding Officer of The Basic School.
His general officer duties included Deputy Director of Operations, J-34, Combating Terrorism, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; and President, Marine Corps University at Quantico, Va.
After promotion to Major General, he assumed command of the 1st Marine Division. In November 2002, Major General Conway was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. He commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force during two combat tours in Iraq.In 2004, he was reassigned as the Director of Operations, J-3, Joint Staff, in Washington, D.C.
Conway graduated with honors from The Basic School, the U.S. Army Infantry Officers’ Advanced Course, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Air War College.
General Conway’s personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with palm, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two Gold Stars, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon.
For more information about commencement, contact the Office of Student Records at (270) 789-5233.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,405 students who represent 98 Kentucky counties, 25 states and 29 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South and eighth in the South for “Great Schools, Great Prices.” CU has been ranked 15 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his ninth year as president.