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An estimated 4,500 people attended Claflin University’s 138th commencement convocation Saturday morning at the Seventh-day Adventist Worship and Convention Center in Orangeburg. Claflin awarded 34 master’s and 302 baccalaureate degrees to graduates of the Class of 2008.
The commencement address was delivered by Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, a minority higher education assistance organization that has provided more than $2.5 billion in operating and program funds over its 64-year history to its 39-member private historically black colleges and universities across the United States.
Claflin University president Dr. Henry N. Tisdale is chairman of the UNCF’s Council of Presidents.
Lomax, a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta who was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at the Claflin ceremonies, told the graduates it was imperative that they make their mark on the world by building on the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“My senior year at Morehouse — 1968 — was uneventful prior to the assassination of Dr. King,” Lomax said. “But all that changed when his funeral was held on the campus of my school. Thanks to Dr. King and many others, I was able to begin my adult life where legal barriers to participation in American society had been banished. It was then the job of my generation to remove the remaining barriers.”
Lomax stressed to the newly minted Claflin graduating class that they must not see their diplomas only as symbols of personal accomplishment, but as a mandate they must use to make a difference, citing the example of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
“In the new global community that you are entering, race still matters, but eduction matters more,” Lomax said. “In a time where almost half of African-Americans do not graduate from high school and many lose their way, only to end up in prison, your generation must be poised to claim the leadership positions that will create new opportunities.”
Claflin valedictorian Kimberly Krystal Revas of Trinidad and Tobago echoed the sentiments of Lomax when she urged her fellow graduates to find their passion and stand for something.
“Whether it’s as a doctor or raising children, do it with pride,” Revas said. “Find your greatness. We have all struggled to arrive at this point, and to forget the lessons we learned in that struggle would be a waste.”
One graduate of the Class of 2008 who overcame many personal disappointments and travails to graduate magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in organizational management is Belinda D. Logan of Bowman.
Logan, who was diagnosed with lupus in 1987 and was told she couldn’t have children, adopted four children with her husband. Logan also put her own career on hold to raise and homeschool her adopted brood, of whom three of the four had learning disabilities.
Logan’s new degree will allow her to qualify for a job that she can do from home while she cares for her son, who suffered a severe brain injury during an accident.
“I feel good about being able to do something for myself and my children,” Logan said.
The James E. Hunter Faculty Excellence Award for the year was awarded to Dr. Omar Bagasra, a biology professor who is director of the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology at Claflin. The award, which carries a $1,000 stipend, recognized Bagasra’s work that has resulted in more than $1 million in research funds being awarded to the university.
Lakisha R. Lockhart of Columbus, Ga., received the President’s Award for Leadership and Service. Lockhart graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and religion. She will attend graduate school at the University of Chicago.