Charleston Mayor to speak at Univ. of South Carolina commencement

Joe Riley, longtime mayor of Charleston, will speak at the University of South Carolina’s winter commencement on Dec. 14.


Riley, 72, has served ten terms as Charleston’s mayor, beginning in 1975. He also served as a Democrat in the South Carolina House of Representatives (1968-74). Riley is a graduate of The Citadel (‘64) and the University of South Carolina School of Law (‘67).


University of South Carolina will award 2,100 degrees from its Columbia campus at the winter ceremony and 768 from its Aiken, Beaufort, Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, Union and Upstate campuses.


The University of South Carolina System has eight campuses across South Carolina, including its flagship campus in Columbia, senior campuses in Aiken, Beaufort, and Spartanburg (Upstate), and regional campuses in Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union. The system was founded in 1957; it has approximately 50,000 students.