NCWC News: North Carolina Wesleyan College To Hold Commencement On May 7

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April 25, 2005

North Carolina Wesleyan College To Hold Commencement On May 7

Rocky Mount, N.C.—North Carolina Wesleyan College will hold its 42^nd commencement on Saturday, May 7. Of the 188 students who applied to participate in the ceremony, 72 are traditional-age students. The remainder completed their degrees through Wesleyan’s Adult Degree Program in Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, and the Raleigh area. Most of the students are from North Carolina, with about a dozen coming from other states.

Wesleyan holds commencement ceremonies in both May and December. Last May, 243 students graduated, and 178 received degrees last December.

Commencement activities will begin with a baccalaureate service at 8:30 a.m. in the Leon Russell Chapel. An honors convocation to recognize outstanding student accomplishments will be held at 10 a.m. in Minges Auditorium in the Dunn Center.

The graduation ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Minges Auditorium. It will include presentation to students of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and the President’s Cup, and the announcement of this year’s Exemplary Teacher award.

Guest commencement speaker will be Angela R. Bryant, a Rocky Mount native. When she was 11 years old, she was the youngest and only girl in a group of four African American students who first integrated the City’s public schools at Edwards Junior High in 1963. She later became one of about 80 African Americans in all the schools and divisions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she entered as a freshman in 1969. At UNC she earned her B.S. degree in mathematics in 1973 and her law degree in 1976. Her law career included seven years as a deputy commissioner of the N.C. Industrial Commission, where she judged disputed claims under the Worker’s Compensation Act and other laws. She also served as an administrative law judge in the Office of Administrative Hearings in Raleigh, where she decided cases between citizens and state government agencies. She became a charter member and former president of the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys, and in 1983 was Lawyer of the Year for the N.C. Association of Black Lawyers.

In 1989, Bryant gave up her traditional legal career to return to service in her hometown. She helped complete the development of Rocky Mount’s first adult day health center for elders and disabled adults—The Wright’s Center, and became a co-founder of VISIONS (Vigorous InterventionS In Ongoing Natural Settings, Inc.). Bryant currently serves VISIONS as a senior consultant helping individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities fully utilize cultural and group differences for successful outcomes.

Bryant has served as a member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina’s

16-campus system; a charter member and former president of the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys; member of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the N.C. State Bar; recipient of the Harvey Beech Award for outstanding achievement at the UNC-Chapel Hill Black Alumni Reunion, and more.

Bryant was elected to the Rocky Mount City Council in 2003 and represents Ward 4 in the southwest area of the city.

Wesleyan’s baccalaureate service and honors convocation are open to the public, although attendance at commencement is reserved for students and their guests.

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