Fifty years have passed since the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision desegregated schools around the country. That historical case will be remembered at ASU's Spring Commencement.
Lawrence Douglas Wilder, the first African-American governor in the United States, will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree.
Wilder was elected governor of Virginia in 1989. He will discuss the anniversary of the landmark Brown case.
The case officially overturned the "separate but equal" standard established in Plessy v. Ferguson, and led to the formal racial integration of public schools.
ASU hasn't had a convocation address from an outside speaker for a few years, said Melissa Werner, ASU's director of University Ceremonies.
Werner said the last outside speaker was Barbara Barrett, who spoke just after the Barrett Honors College received the endowment that would change its name.
ASU President Michael Crow gave the 2003 commencement address, and Werner said Crow specifically requested that this year's commencement focus on the Brown case due to the 50th anniversary.
Also different this year is the inclusion of two chances for students and their families to eat.
A free 8:30 a.m. continental breakfast will precede the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony. ASU officials will hold a Celebration Lunch barbeque afterward.
Tickets must be purchased in advance to attend the barbeque and several college deans will be present.
"What we're hoping to do is encourage students to come to campus for more than just the ceremonies," Werner said.
Werner said ASU also has not awarded honorary degrees in a couple of years. This year's recipients will include Wilder, former National Science Foundation Director Rita Colwell and Rafael Rangel, president of Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Crow signed a formal agreement with Tec de Monterrey officials to collaborate on biotechnology projects during a series of meetings in November.
And for the second time since last fall, ASU's four campuses will participate in the same commencement ceremony.
Shuttle buses will take people to the Tempe campus, but each campus will retain its individual convocation.
ASU East's convocation has become so large that it has had to move to the Wells Fargo Arena, Werner said.
Reach the reporter at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
