Louisiana Tech’s summer commencement ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, and the university’s own Dr. Pauline E. Leonard will serve as keynote speaker. Leonard, the department chair of curriculum, instruction and leadership in the College of Education, received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and her M.Ed. from St. Francis Xavier University. Prior to her faculty position at Tech, Leonard served at the University of Saskatchewan as an assistant professor. She has also served as coordinator at an educational leadership conference and co-coordinator of an educational administration conference, both located at the University of Toronto. Leonard has been published in multiple books and academic journals and has given a number of presentations at academic conferences. Currently, she serves as editorial board member for the Journal of Educational Leadership in Education and for the Values and Ethics in Educational Administration journal. In the university, Leonard serves as chair for the Master of Education (Education Leadership) Program Committee, the Praxis Action Plans Committee and the CIL Departmental Goals Committee. Leonard is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Centre for the Study of Leadership and Ethics and the Louisiana Council of Professors of Educational Administration. Graduation will serve as the official end to summer quarter. For the fall quarter, resident halls will open Sept. 4, and the official first day of class will be Sept. 10.