President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and members of the administration will deliver commencement speeches to Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country.
Michelle Obama will speak before the graduates of the University of Arkansas at Pine bluff on Sat., May 8, while her husband will journey to Hampton University on Sun., May 9.
In total, the Obama administration will deliver commencement addresses to 11 HBCUs this spring, including these notables:
1. Robert Gates, Secretary of the Department of Defense … Morehouse College
2. Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Department of Education … Xavier University,
3. Charles Bolden, Administrator of NASA … Huston-Tillotson University),
4. Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to the President … Morgan State University,
5. Melody Barnes, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council … Virginia Union University,
6. Ambassador Susan Rice, United Nations … Spelman College.
7. John Wilson, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, is scheduled to speak to Wilberforce University, Wiley College, and Harris-Stowe State University.
President Obama said that HBCUs are crucial to helping the president achieve his ambitious goal of achieving the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020.
“We’re not doing this because these schools are a gateway to a better future for African Americans. We’re doing this because their success is vital to a better future for all Americans,” he says of his support of HBCUs. –terry shropshire
