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Florida A&M University
Spring Commencement is schedule for Friday, May 3 & Saturday, May 4, 2019
Times: Friday, May 3, 2019 @ 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 – 9 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Location: Alfred Lawson Multi-Purpose Teaching Gym
Speakers: TBD
Friday, May 3, 2019 @ 6 p.m.
College of Agriculture and Food Sciences
College of Education
School of Allied Health Sciences
School of Business and Industry
School of Journalism & Graphic Communication
Saturday, May 4, 2019 @ 9 a.m.
College of Science and Technology
College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
School of the Environment
Saturday, May 4, 2019 @ 2 p.m.
College of Engineering (FAMU-FSU)
College of Law
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
School of Architecture and Engineering Technology
School of Nursing
*ROTC Commissioning ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 4, during the 9 a.m. ceremony.
Commencement Public Safety Clear Bag Policy
Florida A&M University has implemented a clear bag policy for Commencement to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite entry into the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. This policy limits the size and types of bags permitted. Items must be carried or fit into a permissible clear plastic bag or a small clutch (no larger than 4.5” x 6.5’). All persons, approved bags and permitted items are subject to search upon entry and may be subject to additional search within the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. Anyone possessing prohibited items will be asked to return them to their vehicle or dispose of them at the entrance doors.
FAMU has the authority to prohibit any items deemed to be a security or safety risk. This policy is subject to change without notice.
Commencement Public Safety Clear Bag Policy
Florida A&M University has implemented a clear bag policy for Commencement to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite entry into the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. This policy limits the size and types of bags permitted. Items must be carried or fit into a permissible clear plastic bag or a small clutch (no larger than 4.5” x 6.5’). All persons, approved bags and permitted items are subject to search upon entry and may be subject to additional search within the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. Anyone possessing prohibited items will be asked to return them to their vehicle or dispose of them at the entrance doors.
FAMU has the authority to prohibit any items deemed to be a security or safety risk. This policy is subject to change without notice.
Commencement Public Safety Clear Bag Policy
Florida A&M University has implemented a clear bag policy for Commencement to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite entry into the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. This policy limits the size and types of bags permitted. Items must be carried or fit into a permissible clear plastic bag or a small clutch (no larger than 4.5” x 6.5’). All persons, approved bags and permitted items are subject to search upon entry and may be subject to additional search within the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. Anyone possessing prohibited items will be asked to return them to their vehicle or dispose of them at the entrance doors.
FAMU has the authority to prohibit any items deemed to be a security or safety risk. This policy is subject to change without notice.
Commencement Public Safety Clear Bag Policy
Florida A&M University has implemented a clear bag policy for Commencement to provide a safer environment for the public and expedite entry into the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. This policy limits the size and types of bags permitted. Items must be carried or fit into a permissible clear plastic bag or a small clutch (no larger than 4.5” x 6.5’). All persons, approved bags and permitted items are subject to search upon entry and may be subject to additional search within the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. Anyone possessing prohibited items will be asked to return them to their vehicle or dispose of them at the entrance doors.
FAMU has the authority to prohibit any items deemed to be a security or safety risk. This policy is subject to change without notice.
The Florida A&M University Summer Commencement is scheduled for Friday, August 2, 2019
6 p.m.
Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Teaching Gym
Speaker: AME Church Senior Bishop Adam Richardson Jr. will be Summer Commencement Speaker
Newly elevated African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Senior Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., will address Florida A&M University (FAMU) graduates as the Summer Commencement speaker on Aug. 2.
The commencement ceremony for graduates from all schools and colleges will be held at 6 p.m. in the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium, 1800 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee. More than 300 degrees will be conferred during the ceremony.
Bishop Richardson said he is excited about speaking since this year has a special significance in his relationship with the University.
“This is my 50th year out of FAMU. It’s quite an honor,” said Richardson. “I look forward to sharing whatever insights and wisdom I have gained over these five decades.”
This will be Richardson’s third return as a speaker at FAMU. He plans to savor it.
“I don’t expect to have another one,” he said. “I am really grateful for this one.”
Richardson, who studied philosophy and religion and was the head drum major in the FAMU Marching “100,” was named senior bishop during the AME Church’s Annual Council of Bishops and General Board Meeting Worship Service on June 26, 2019, in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Senior Bishop is the active bishop with the longest tenure of service in the AME Church and is first in order of precedence among the Council of Bishops.
The former pastor of Tallahassee’s Bethel AME Church, Richardson obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from FAMU in 1969. He earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Sacred Theology degrees at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
Before being elected as the 115th AME Bishop in 1996, for 18 years, Richardson served as pastor of Bethel AME, which is located near the FAMU campus.
As a bishop, Richardson’s ministry has had a global reach. He served churches in West Africa, including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo and Benin, South Africa, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Florida and the Bahamas. The AME Church has more than two million members in 40 countries across five continents.
Richardson will serve as senior bishop until his retirement in 2024. At his consecration, reflecting on his time as a FAMU drum major, Richardson said, “There are quite a few steps (literally and figuratively) between the Patch (the practice field) and Senior Bishop!”
He and his wife, Connie Speights Richardson, are the parents of two adult children: son, Trey, a certified hospital radiographer and professional saxophone player, and daughter, Leon County Judge Monique Richardson, who is also a FAMU alum.
FAMU Virtual Spring Commencement 2020
Saturday, May 9 @ 10 a.m.
Florida A&M University (FAMU) will hold its first-ever virtual commencement at 10 a.m. May 9, as the University continues to adhere to social distancing guidelines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commencement Speaker: Angela Robinson, Alumna and Actress
How to watch the ceremony https://florida-am.stageclip.com/
“Graduates will have the opportunity to share photos, special gratitude messages and memories about their college experience prior to the virtual ceremony,” Boston said.
While COVID-19 may have changed our plans for a traditional ceremony, one thing that hasn’t changed – we want to celebrate the Class of 2020. Florida A&M University will host a close-captioned virtual ceremony for Spring 2020 graduates on Saturday, May 9 at 10 a.m. Graduates will receive an email from the vendor on how to submit their headshot and information.
During the ceremony, each graduate’s name will be called, and the photo/information submitted will be displayed.
Plans are still being made to celebrate graduates in a traditional ceremony, at a later date that has not been determined.
For more information, visit the Commencement page.
Email questions to commencement@famu.edu
The Florida A&M University Summer Virtual Commencement Ceremony
August 1, 2020
Time: 10 A.M.
Location: Via Zoom
Tune in to celebrate the Summer Class of 2020 during the Virtual Commencement Ceremony August 1 at 10 a.m. on FAMU’s YouTube page – FAMUTube1887.
For more information: www.famu.edu/.commencement
Commencement Regalia for students: herffjones.com
Once on the page select Graduation and type in Florida A & M to search for school.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III Is FAMU Summer Commencement Speaker
Florida A&M University (FAMU) alumnus and St. Paul, Minnesota Mayor Melvin Carter III will be the keynote speaker for the University’s virtual Summer Commencement ceremony 10 a.m. August 1.
The celebration for 400 graduates will be aired live on the FAMU Facebook page and YouTube channel.
“FAMU helped shape my life and leadership,” Carter said. “I am honored to speak at this year’s summer commencement.”
Carter was elected as Minnesota capital city’s 46th and first African American mayor in 2018. Since taking office, his accomplishments include raising the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour; tripling free program in recreation centers; eliminating late fines in public libraries; reestablishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund; expanding immigrant and refugee support resources and launching an Office of Financial Empowerment.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter launched the St. Paul Bridge Fund to provide emergency relief to St. Paul’s lowest-income families and small businesses most vulnerable to the economic impact of the pandemic. The fund provided more than $4 million of direct aid between April and June. He has also been in demand on national media in the wake of protests following a Minneapolis police officer’s killing of George Floyd.
“It is an honor to welcome Mayor Carter to address FAMU’s summer graduates. He is one of our own and, furthermore, a Rattler who has been on the frontlines battling racial injustice and speaking truth to the nation in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death,” said President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “He is a seasoned leader of this day and time and will be a voice of inspiration for our graduates.”
The son of a retired St. Paul police officer and a Ramsey County commissioner, Carter graduated from the city’s public schools before entering FAMU. He earned a bachelor’s in business administration from the FAMU School of Business and Industry in 2002 before completing a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota.