Board of Regents chair-elect, logistics expert to speak at fall commencement

The chair-elect of the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents (BOR) and an expert on logistics, manufacturing and innovation will serve as the speakers at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) fall commencement ceremonies set for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 14.

Regent Sachin Shailendra will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony. Alan Amling, CEO of the advisory firm Thrive and Advance LLC, will address the 2 p.m. ceremony.

As president of SG Contracting Inc., Shailendra governs the company's activities and provides direction to smoothly and efficiently match people and projects to deliver successful outcomes. Shailendra is a board member of the Georgia REACH Foundation and sits on the board of Children’s Health Care of Atlanta's Sports Network as well as serving on the board of the Metro Atlanta YMCA. Shailendra will become chair of the Board of Regents in January 2020.

Sachin Shailendra will speak at the 10 a.m. Dec. 14 commencement ceremony.

Amling, who worked for UPS for 27 years and was vice president of corporate strategy there through March 2019, is currently a Fellow with the University of Tennessee's Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative and serves on the advisory board for the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. He gave a September 2015 TED talk titled "The future of delivery in our new on-demand economy." Amling visited UNG as part of the Cottrell Speaker Series and was a judge for the inaugural innovateUNG Pitch Challenge, both held in early 2019.

About 800 graduates are expected to participate in the Dec. 14 ceremonies in the Convocation Center at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. 

Separate commissioning ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 13 for members of the Corps of Cadets entering the U.S. Army or Georgia Army National Guard as second lieutenants. Individual commissioning ceremonies for the cadets will recognize their service and leadership and formally mark their entry into the military.

Alan Amling will speak at the 2 p.m. Dec. 14 commencement ceremony.

Electronic tickets are required to attend the commencement ceremonies and have been distributed to graduates through UNG's online ticketing system.

Graduates should arrive at least an hour prior to graduation to line up for the ceremony. Graduates and guests should allow extra time for traffic and parking. All bags will be checked at the Convocation Center's entrance.

Graduates and guests are invited to share their success via social media using #UNG19grad; posts and photos using the hashtag can be viewed before, during and after the weekend's ceremony at UNG19grad.

To find more information about commencement, including details and instructions for graduates and guests, visit UNG's commencement webpage.