For the last time - something that has happened since 1965 - students will walk away from a graduation ceremony in Opp with the words "MacArthur State" on their diplomas. August 15 marks the final graduation exercises for MacArthur State Technical College as an individual identity since a recent merger with Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College in Andalusia and LBW's satellite campus in Greenville merged earlier this year.

The merger will be official this fall and MacArthur will become known as Lurleen B. Wallace Community College-MacArthur campus.

"We're going to emphasize that this is the last one, and it's a special one," said Wayne Bennett, who served as the technical college's interim president for seven years. "We will be doing some reminiscing about the good times we've had and the students we've helped - but times change."

Bennett, who, with LBW's former interim president Dr. Jim Krudop, and the current president of the merged schools Dr. Ed Meadows, have been traveling extensively between the three campuses, preparing for the accreditation team's visit at the end of this month.

"We're having to get documentation ready," said Bennett, who is helping prepare emergency readiness plans, college catalogues, and other items the accreditation team will need. "They've kept us hopping, but we're all learning more about the other campuses than we did before."

Judge Frank "Trippy" McGuire will give the final commencement speech to the 2003 graduating class.

The public is invited to attend the commencement exercises.

For more information, please call the college at (334) 493-3573.