COLUMBUS, Miss. – Robin Robinson, a member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, will address Mississippi University for Women graduates Friday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. in Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall.

Approximately 100 participants are expected to walk in the university’s first ever December commencement, which replaces the December Graduates’ Recognition Ceremony held over the past few years, according to Tammy Prather, MUW registrar. The ceremony will include August graduates and December candidates.

“At the recommendation of the Faculty Senate, we thought the December graduation was the perfect way to honor and accommodate our students and their guests as our graduating class grows,” Prather said.

MUW President Jim Borsig added, "Our formal December commencement grew out of the recommendations by a faculty committee. We have done a recognition ceremony in the past, but this will be our first winter commencement, and we look forward to continuing the tradition in the future."

Robinson was appointed to the Board in 2004 by Gov. Haley Barbour for a term to expire in May 2015. She is the director of Organization Development and Corporate Communication at Sanderson Farms, Inc., a position she has held since 2000. She has worked for the Laurel-based poultry company in various roles since her graduation from The University of Southern Mississippi in 1978. At Southern Miss, she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.

She is very active in the community and across the state. She serves as chairman of the M.B. Swayze Educational Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for the Jones County Junior College Foundation; the United Way of the Pine Belt; and the American Lung Association, Mississippi Chapter. She serves on The University of Southern Mississippi Business Advisory Council and is a governor-appointed member of the Mississippi Supreme Court Judicial Advisory Study Committee. She also served on the Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal after Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 2005.

In the past, Robinson has served as chairman of the Board of Directors and national president of Business and Professional Women (BPW)/USA, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the BPW/USA Foundation, president of the Mississippi Federation of Business and Professional Women and chairman of Leadership Mississippi. She also served on the Southern Growth Policies Board, the Mississippi Gaming Commission and The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association International.

Robinson has been named one of Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women, a "Woman Who Makes a Difference" by the Mississippi YWCA and one of America's 2000 Notable Women. She was also inducted into The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame.