Joan Gabel, University of Pittsburgh chancellor and graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, will deliver the fall undergraduate Commencement address at UGA on Dec. 11 in Stegeman Coliseum. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m.

Charles Davis, dean of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, will deliver the address at the graduate ceremony on Dec. 11 in Stegeman Coliseum. The ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m.

After receiving her Juris Doctor from UGA in 1993, Gabel embarked on what would become a long and distinguished career in higher education. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Gabel served as president of the University of Minnesota System and Twin Cities campus. She previously served as provost at the University of South Carolina and dean of the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri. She also held the DeSantis Professorship of Legal Studies at Florida State University, where she served as a department chair.

Today, Gabel leads one of the nation’s top-ranked public institutions, championing student success, impactful research and groundbreaking innovation. Under her leadership, the University of Pittsburgh has set records in research funding, student demand and enrollment, graduation rates, postgraduation placement and student belonging, alongside growth in patents filed and invention disclosures.

Gabel’s influence in advancing the public mission of higher education extends well beyond the University of Pittsburgh. She holds several national leadership roles, including chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board, academic vice chair of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and vice chair of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In recognition of her contributions to higher education, Gabel will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the undergraduate ceremony. The honorary degree acknowledges those whose accomplishments have had an enduring impact and is the university’s highest recognition short of an earned doctorate.

Anna Wright, a student in the School of Public and International Affairs earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science, will deliver the student address. During her time at UGA, she earned the Public Affairs Professional Certificate in Applied Politics, interned in the Office of Governor Brian Kemp and participated in the Double Dawgs program, working toward a master’s degree in public administration.

Graduate speaker Davis currently serves as dean of UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, following a successful career in journalism. He earned his master’s in journalism from UGA and his doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida.

Prior to his appointment as dean, Davis worked as a faculty member at Georgia Southern University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Missouri, where he taught for 14 years and served as department chair in the Missouri School of Journalism. He also served for five years as executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

For his demonstration of outstanding leadership and robust support for journalism and mass communication, Davis received the Distinguished Administrator Award from the American Journalism Historians Association and was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in 2016. In 2022, he received the Golden Mic Award from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. In 2025, he was honored with the Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Award from the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and the Faculty Blue Key Service Award from the UGA chapter.

For more information about Commencement, please visit commencement.uga.edu.