Contact: Sammy McDavid
Some 2,000 students are scheduled to graduate May 13 at Mississippi State University.
Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. of Kingsport, Tenn., is the spring semester commencement speaker. A 1960 MSU chemical engineering graduate from Macon, he is chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Chemical Co. He also holds a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Graduation exercises at Humphrey Coliseum will begin at 1:15 p.m.
Deavenport joined Eastman after graduating from MSU and held a succession of management positions before being named president of the Tennessee company's Carolina operations in 1982. Three years later, he was promoted to assistant general manager of the Eastman Chemical Division and vice president of the Eastman Kodak Co.
In 1989, he became Eastman president and Kodak group vice president. He was a member of Kodak's board of directors until 1993, when he resigned as part of the spin-off of Eastman Chemical.
In January of 1994, Deavenport assumed his current leadership role. Under his guidance, the company developed an aggressive global growth strategy and today is world leader in the production of polyester plastics packaging.
Last year, he was given the Palladium Award, an international honor presented by the Societe de Chemie Industrielle's American Section for his efforts on behalf of the global chemical industry. He previously received numerous other accolades, including the Kavaler Award, the industry's highest recognition for executive achievement.