Doug Ivester, former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, will address undergraduates at the University of Georgia’s fall Commencement ceremony on December 12 at Stegeman Coliseum. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Ron Walcott, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School at UGA, will speak at the graduate Commencement ceremony later that day at 2:30 p.m., also in Stegeman Coliseum.
Ivester graduated from UGA with an accounting degree in 1969. He currently leads Deer Run Investments LLC. Ivester joined Coca-Cola in 1979 after serving as the company’s outside accountant for ten years. He became its youngest vice president in 1981 and was later named senior vice president of finance in 1983. In 1985, he became chief financial officer at age 37 and was elected chairman and CEO in 1997. Ivester retired from Coca-Cola in 2000.
His involvement with UGA includes serving as an emeritus trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and supporting various university initiatives. He is also a trustee of Brenau University and a director of the Melvin Douglas & Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation.
Ivester Hall, part of UGA’s Business Learning Community, was named for him in 2019. In 2024, he contributed to establishing the M. Douglas & V. Kay Ivester Institute for Business Analytics and Insights at Terry College.
Ivester has supported students through Georgia Commitment Scholarships for those from Hall County and created programs such as the Deer Run Fellows Program and the Deer Run Global Fellows Program to provide learning opportunities and scholarships for international studies.
At the undergraduate ceremony, Ivester will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from UGA. According to the university, “The honorary degree is the university’s highest recognition short of an earned doctorate and honors those whose achievements have had a lasting impact.”
Reid McAdams, a Morehead Honors College student graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, will deliver the student address. McAdams’ experience includes studying international business in Cortona, Italy, and interning with Goldman Sachs as an investment banking analyst.
Walcott holds a Ph.D. in plant pathology from UGA and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State University. As a professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, his research focuses on pathogens affecting commercially important vegetables. His work has received over $5 million in external funding from government agencies and industry partners.
He has also secured nearly $1 million more to support educational initiatives aimed at high school and undergraduate students’ career awareness. Walcott has mentored or served on advisory committees for more than forty master’s and Ph.D. students, as well as several undergraduates and high school participants through CAES Young Scholars Internship Program.
For additional details about Commencement ceremonies, visit commencement.uga.edu.
