Dr. Sunil Ahuja, who will become Lakeland Community College’s sixth president May 15, following a nationwide search, will deliver the commencement address during both ceremonies. Dr. Ahuja most recently served as provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. He previously served as associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Scranton, as vice president for accreditation relations at the Higher Learning Commission in Chicago, and as dean of the division of social sciences and human services at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. Dr. Ahuja was a professor of political science at Youngstown State University, where he also served as acting chair of the department of history.

There will also be an Alumni Keynote Address from a successful Lakeland graduate at each ceremony.

Graduates in the morning ceremony will hear from Michael G. Miller, president of M & T Enterprises, dba Handy Rents and Aladdin Rents. Miller graduated from Lakeland with an Associate of Applied Business degree in 1978. He was inducted into the Lakeland Alumni Hall of Fame in 2019.

During the afternoon ceremony graduates will hear from Michael D. Thomas. Thomas is the senior director for MediaVision at Case Western Reserve University. Thomas earned his Associate of Arts degree from Lakeland in 1985. He was inducted into the Lakeland Alumni Hall of Fame in 2019 and currently serves as the alumni representative to The Lakeland Foundation Board of Directors.

By: Tracy Shook, Sr. Dir. for Marketing & Communications