Tennessee State University (TSU) recently announced that talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Mississippi U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02) will headline the university’s spring commencement ceremonies next month.
Winfrey will headline TSU’s undergraduate Commencement as the keynote speaker on May 6th at 8 a.m., while Thompson will headline the university’s graduate commencement as the keynote speaker at an indoor ceremony on May 5th at 5 p.m. in the Gentry Center Complex.
Winfrey went to high school at East Nashville High School and attended TSU on a full scholarship, majoring in communications. Thompson, who chaired the House’s controversial January 6 Select Committee, did not attend school at a Tennessee college or university. However, he graduated from Tougaloo College in Mississippi, which, like TSU, is a Historically Black College.
“To have Ms. Winfrey as our speaker will be a life changing moment for graduates and the University. She is someone who has walked the TSU campus as a student, sat in some of the same classrooms, and knows first-hand the value of a TSU education. Ms. Winfrey and Congressman Thompson are trailblazers, history makers and HBCU graduates, adding to the excitement and anticipation for both commencement ceremonies,” Dr. Glenda Glover, president of TSU said in a statement.
According to TSU, over 800 students will receive degrees in various disciplines through both commencement ceremonies.
Last year, TSU hosted Vice President Kamala Harris at its spring commencement ceremony.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Oprah Winfrey” by INTX: The Internet & Television Expo. CC BY 2.0. Photo “Bennie Thompson” by United States Congress. Background Photo “Tennessee State University” by Tennessee State University.
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