Furman to hold opening convocation Monday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.

Judge Keith B. Johnson, a 2005 Furman University graduate and associate Juvenile Court Judge for the Augusta (Georgia) Judicial Circuit, will serve as speaker at Furman’s opening convocation Monday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. in McAlister Auditorium.

Following the ceremony, the entire university community is invited to attend a luncheon on the Furman Mall.

Furman President Elizabeth Davis will preside at convocation as the university welcomes the class of 2022 and celebrates the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.

In addition to recognizing individuals who have received special honors, the university will introduce the five members of the senior class who have been named Furman Fellows for the current academic year.

Judge Johnson graduated from Furman with a degree in history and was a member of the Paladin football team, which won Southern Conference championships in 2001 and 2004. He was awarded a Juris Doctor from Michigan State University in 2008.

In 2013, at the age of 30, Johnson was appointed and commissioned by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to serve as an associate Juvenile Court Judge for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, making him one of the youngest judges ever appointed in the state. In 2018, he became the first black male appointed president of the Augusta Bar Association, which was founded in 1895.

Johnson maintains a private criminal defense practice in addition to his duties as a judge, and he has been named one of America’s “Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys” by the National Trial Lawyers Association. He was also selected to the Super Lawyers 2017 and 2018 Georgia Rising Stars list.

For more information about convocation, contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at (864) 294-3107.