Chipola College Commencement Set for May 5

Updated: April 27, 2022

The Chipola College 2022 Commencement Ceremony is set for Thursday, May 5, at 7 p.m. CT, at the Dothan Civic Center. The address is 126 St. Andrews Street, Dothan, AL, 36303.

Graduates should receive an email from the college about caps and gowns, which will be picked up in the Book Store.

Counted as members of the class are all who will complete degrees or certificates from December of 2021 to May of 2022 or during the Summer 2022 terms. Diplomas will be awarded for Bachelor of Science, Associate in Science, Associate in Arts and Workforce Development Certificates. Chipola graduates may invite family members and guests to share the event. The ceremony will be broadcast live on YouTube.

Ricky Polston, Florida Supreme Court Justice and Chipola’s 2021 Alumnus of the Year, will deliver the commencement address. A native of Graceville, Florida, Polston graduated from Chipola in 1975 with an A.A. degree. He went on to earn a B.S. summa cum laude, at Florida State University, where he was named FSU’s Most Outstanding Accounting Student. He became a certified public accountant and practiced with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in the Tampa office for seven years. 

Polston then returned to FSU for his law degree. In 1986, he obtained a J.D. with high honors from Florida State College of Law. He was a member of the Florida State University Law Review and the Order of the Coif. After becoming a member of the Florida Bar, he worked in private law practice in Tallahassee for 14 years.

Polston became a judge at the Florida First District Court of Appeal in 2001 until becoming a justice of the Florida Supreme Court in 2008. During this time, he served a two-year term as Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court in 2012-14.

Polston and his wife, Deborah Ehler Polston, have been married 44 years, have 10 children, including an adopted sibling group of six, and numerous grandchildren. He has been involved in his church, including being an elder, deacon, and teacher of various student and adult classes.                

For information about the graduation ceremony, contact the Admissions and Records Office at 850-718-2311 or visit www.chipola.edu.