Incoming U of M President Raines Will Address Spring Commencement May 4 Dr. Shirley C. Raines will address the University of Memphis community officially even before she assumes her role as president. Raines will deliver the address at The U of M's commencement Friday, May 4, before 1,300 graduates. Ceremonies begin at 3:30 p.m. at The Pyramid.

Raines currently holds two positions at The University of Kentucky in Lexington, vice chancellor of academic services and dean of the College of Education. She was named president of The University of Memphis by the Tennessee Board of Regents in January after a search that lasted almost a year.

Raines won't take the helm of The U of M until July 1. Since her appointment, however, she has made periodic trips to Memphis to acquaint herself with University policies and procedures and to meet with city officials and business leaders and people associated with the University. She has also met with legislators during their current session in Nashville.

Raines' stated goal is to make The U of M a great university. She cites existing community connections through business, the performing arts, and research as evidence that the Mid-South wants to be involved with the University. She said she plans to visit the state legislature often and to raise public awareness of the importance of The U of M to the community, the state and the region.

Before joining the faculty at Kentucky, Raines was a department chair and professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 1992 to 1995. She was an associate professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, from 1987 to 1992.

Raines graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin and earned a master's degree and doctorate in education from UT Knoxville.

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