Condoleezza Rice Invited To Give Johnson C. Smith's Commencement Speech

Condoleezza Rice Invited To Speak At J.C. Smith Graduation


Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the commencement speaker at Johnson C. Smith University’s commencement exercises next month, the school said Wednesday.

Rice, the first female African American Secretary of State, will speak at the May 2 exercises on campus. Rice’s father, the late John W. Rice, was a Johnson C. Smith alumnus.

“To have someone of Dr. Rice’s stature and professional accomplishments serve as the keynote speaker for our commencement ceremony is indeed an honor for the university,” said Johnson C. Smith President Ronald Carter.

Rice, 55, now a professor at Stanford University, was a teacher and then provost at Stanford from 1981 to 1999, then became National Security Advisor in President George W. Bush’s first administration. She succeeded Colin Powell, the first African American Secretary of State, in that role from 2005 until the end of the second Bush administration in January 2009.

She is an Alabama native who earned a bachelors degree from the University of Denver, a masters from Notre Dame, and a doctorate from Denver.

Johnson C. Smith’s commencement exercises are scheduled for the indoor Irwin Belk Complex on campus.




View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Johnson C. Smith University, Stanford University, Youtube, Zimbio, Google Maps