Recently elected United States Senator Raphael Warnock is heading a lineup of speakers for Clayton State University’s commencement ceremonies on April 30 and May 1.
Sen. Warnock joins Tony award winning and Emmy-nominated Broadway and television director Kenny Leon, Clayton County Juvenile Court Chief Judge and Clayton State alumnus Steven Teske, and Sarah-Elizabeth Lanford Reed, a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, to celebrate and recognize the academic achievements of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students.
Sen. Warnock grew up in public housing in Savannah, Georgia. He earned a degree in psychology from Morehouse College, a Master’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Divinity from Union Theological Seminar, as well as a PhD in Theology. Sen. Warnock was elected to the United States Senate in the January 5 special election runoff. Prior to his election, he served as Senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Sen. Warnock is the youngest pastor to serve Ebenezer Baptist.
Leon most recently directed Lifetime’s Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia. Last year, he directed the Tony-nominated Broadway premiere of Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, A Soldier’s Play, for which he also received a nomination for Best Director.
Teske served as a Litigative Expert for the U.S. Department of Justice in the “School-to-Prison Pipeline” case, United States of America v. Meridian, et. al. resulting in “a landmark consent decree” mandating sweeping reforms of school disciplinary practices that were harmful to kids of color.
Regent Langford Reed, a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, is an attorney and former First Lady of the city of Atlanta. Regent Langford Reed was instrumental in several initiatives that include partnering with Google Fiber to provide low-income families with technology and high-speed internet services, as well as opening a technology center and computer lab with the WNBA in partnership with the YWCA.
For full details about the commencement, and to watch the ceremonies on April 30 and May 1, visithttps://www.clayton.edu/commencement/.