Congressman Jefferson to speak at spring commencement

Congressman William Jefferson is scheduled to deliver this year’s keynote address to the spring graduates of Southern University.
The ceremony will take place Friday May 12th, at 10:30 a.m., in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
“I am very proud to have him speak,” said SUBR Chancellor Dr. Edward R. Jackson. “He is a true friend of the university.”
Jefferson, a lifelong resident of Louisiana, is an alumnus of the university and a graduate of Harvard University Law School. He later received a Master of Law in Taxation from Georgetown University.
The congressman is currently serving his eighth term as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and is the current Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Representing the 2nd District of Louisiana since 1991, he is the first black to be elected to Congress in Louisiana since “The Reconstruction”.
He’s also an active and senior member of the House Committee on the Budget, and serves as Co-Chair of the Africa Trade and Investment Caucus, as well as the Congressional Caucuses on Brazil and Nigeria.
According to Jackson, Jefferson has been very wonderful and helpful to Southern, especially when it comes to getting federal assistance and grants during Hurricane Katrina.
He even secured help in accruing Federal Emergency Management Agency and Army Core of Engineer to assist in the university’s aid.
“He has done so much for the university, and I want to honor him by letting him give the keynote address,” Jackson said.
Approximately 638 students will be awarded graduate and undergraduate degrees during the commencement exercise, and the public is invited to attend.
Graduating senior Jauvaughn Riger, of Cecilia, receiving a Biology degree, said she’s excited about the ceremony.
“I’ve been waiting all semester because I’m getting my diploma,” Riger said.