ASU Alum Named Spring 2018 Commencement Speaker
Alabama State University will hold its 297th Commencement Exercises on May 12 (Saturday), at 9:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. in the ASU Dunn-Oliver Acadome with ASU alumnus (Class of 2007) Duncan Kirkwood (outreach and recruitment manager for the Northland Workforce Training Center (NWTC) in New York) delivering the commencement address.
Before joining NWTC, Kirkwood worked in various professional capacities, including serving as the director for the Alabama State Black Alliance for Educational Options, a national advocacy organization designed to increase access to high quality educational options for low-income and working-class families. He has been recognized nationally for his work in education reform and continues to be a force for social justice. He is one of the leading voices of educational choice and parent advocacy in Western New York.
Kirkwood has written and passed a series of city laws and has helped transform the education system in Alabama by writing and having three state laws passed around the topic of educational choice. One of the landmark educational efforts he helped to lead was the passage of a charter school law in Alabama.
Kirkwood’s path to public service was first ignited as a student at ASU. While at ASU, he was elected student body vice president (2006), Student Government Association (SGA) president (2007) and was elected president of the Beta Upsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. As SGA president, Kirkwood joined several local civil rights leaders in a suit against the city of Montgomery to protect voting rights for ASU students. He also led a trip to Israel with eight students to do volunteer work. A patriot, Kirkwood is a member of the National Guard.
NEW CHANGES @ ASU’S GRADUATION CEREMONY MAY 12
ASU’s commencement will now be divided into two ceremonies. The first ceremony will be held at 9:45 a.m. and the second ceremony at 2:45 p.m. on May 12.
“This is all about meeting the needs of ASU’s graduating students, their families and friends, and the University better serving all of them during one of the most important and precious times of their lives; their college graduation,” said President Quinton T. Ross, Jr. “By having two separate ceremonies, there will be more seats available for our students’ loved ones and a shorter ceremony in the Acadome for our students.”
President Ross said the decision to change to two commencement ceremonies for spring and fall came after careful deliberation by a committee composed of representatives from across the campus. The committee spoke with various stakeholders and conducted a survey of the academic community well in advance of any final decision being made.
“We were determined that this decision would be made not by any one person, but with the input of various members of the University community,” Ross said. “I felt that it was imperative to include a diverse group of University stakeholders in the decision-making process, which will help to ensure that our graduating seniors and their families have the best graduation experience possible.”
On May 12, the doors to the Acadome will open at 8 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony.
The Golden Class of 1968 will participate in the morning ceremony.
Commencement Schedule for May 12:
9:45 a.m:
College of Education.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
College of Visual and Performing Arts.
University College
Golden Class
2:45 p.m:
The Percy J. Vaughn, Jr. College of Business Administration.
College of Health Sciences.
College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
For more information about ASU’s Spring Commencement, visit the Commencement page at: www.alasu.edu/commencement.
