May 13, 2005 – The University of the Virgin Islands will confer approximately 350 degrees at its 41st annual commencement ceremonies this weekend on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. The St. Thomas campus ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, in the Sports and Fitness Center. The St. Croix campus ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, on the campus grounds.
Speech commuication and theatre major, Khalilah Gordon, will be the class speaker on the St. Thomas campus, according to a release from the university. The St. Croix class speaker is Class President Nestor Ramon, a police science and administrator major.
The key address at both ceremonies will be given by Belle S. Wheelan, secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Wheelan served as president for several community colleges in Virginia before accepting the position of secretary of education, becoming the first African-American female to hold the post. She was also the first African-American to be named to the Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities at Trinity University, where she earned her bachelor's degree. She earned a master's degree in developmental/educational psychology from Louisiana State University, and her doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas.
For more information, call the Chancellor's Office on St. Croix at 692-4000 and on St. Thomas at 693-1147.
