Retired SFA professor to offer commencement address

Dr. Donald Gregory, professor emeritus of political science.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Dr. Donald Gregory, professor emeritus of political science, will offer the commencement address during fall graduation ceremonies at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Gregory served on the SFA faculty for more than three decades. He began as an instructor in the Department of Political Science and eventually became chair of the department. He was named professor emeritus upon his retirement in 2004.

Gregory graduated from Big Spring High School and served in the U.S. Navy. He attended Howard County Junior College in Big Spring before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees from North Texas State University and his doctorate from Southern Illinois University. He worked as a government instructor at North Texas State before joining the SFA faculty.

At SFA, Gregory's teaching specializations included judicial process, American legal systems and constitutional law. He served as the pre-law adviser for 30 years and was twice selected as SFA Adviser of the Year. Gregory co-founded the Texas Moot Court Association and coached the highly successful SFA Moot Court Team.

He served as chair of the SFA Student Conduct Review Board for more than a decade and represented the university on three Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation visitation teams. He has published numerous articles and presented papers on Texas politics, constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gregory resides in McKinney with his wife, Jane, who earned a master's degree from SFA in 1981. Their son, Steve, and daughter, Karen, earned SFA degrees in 1993 and 1995, respectively. All four family members are lifetime members of the SFA Alumni Association.

SFA commencement ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at William R. Johnson Coliseum. More than 900 degrees will be awarded, including 769 bachelor's degrees, 143 master's degrees and one doctorate of forestry. Fifty-nine students will graduate cum laude, along with 48 magna cum laude and 35 summa cum laude graduates.