Brigadier General Darlene M. Goff, a Lander University graduate and the first woman promoted to general in the history of the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCANG), will deliver the commencement address to 191 degree candidates at Lander's graduation ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 17, at 11 a.m., in the university's Finis Home Arena.
A 34-year military veteran, Goff is the Assistant Adjutant General and Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, the SCAN G's highest-ranking female officer.
She graduated from Lander in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and obtained master's degrees in computer and information resource management from Webster University, and strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. She also completed Joint Task Force Commander Training.
Goff began her military career as an enlisted soldier in 1977. Four years later, she completed officer training at Palmetto Military Academy in Columbia and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Over the next 29 years, she would rise through the ranks to her present position as brigadier general.
During her three-and-a-half decades in uniform, Goff has earned an impressive array of military decorations for distinguished service.
A member of the U.S. and South Carolina Army National Guard associations and the Leadership South Carolina Alumni Association, she was recently named vice chair of SCANG's Youth ChalleNGe Advisory Board.
The Ninety Six native is married to Col. Eddie Goff, USA (Ret.), who recently concluded a 34-year Army career. She has family ties to Greenwood County: her sister, Elaine Gentry, lives in Shoals Junction, and her sister-in-law Jane Alexander lives in Greenwood. Her mother, Margaret Alexander, formerly of Greenwood, now resides in West Columbia.
Tickets are required to attend the commencement ceremony. Information on obtaining tickets is available at www.lander.edu.