2021 Spring Commencement SATURDAY, MAY EIGHTH TWO THOUSAND TWENTY ONE COMMENCEMENT II - 11:00 A.M. ALEXANDER DURLEY SPORTS COMPLEX 3393 BLODGETT STREET HOUSTON, TEXAS Credo: Excellence in Achievement TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPRING COMMENCEMENT SATURDAY, MAY EIGHTH TWO THOUSAND TWENTY ONE ELEVEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING ALEXANDER DURLEY SPORTS COMPLEX 3393 BLODGETT STREET HOUSTON, TEXAS Credo: Excellence in Achievement 18 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS Regent Albert H. Myres, Sr., Chairman Houston, Texas Regent Marc C. Carter, Vice Chairman Regent Ronald J. Price Houston, Texas Mesquite, Texas Regent Pamela A. Medina, 2nd Vice Chair Regent Marilyn A. Rose Houston, Texas Houston, Texas Regent James M. Benham, Secretary Regent Mary Evans Sias College Station, Texas Richardson, Texas Regent Stephanie D. Nellons-Paige Regent Caroline Baker Hurley Houston, Texas Dallas, Texas Student Regent Joseph R. Johnson Sugar Land, Texas OFFICERS OF ADMINISTRATION Kenneth R. Huewitt Hao Le Interim President General Counsel Kendall T. Harris Mario Berry Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs & Research Vice President for Information Technology Anita Lockridge Heidi Smith Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance/ CFO Chief of Staff Teresa McKinney Mary Young Vice President for Student Services and Chief of Police Enrollment Services / Dean of Students Melinda Spaulding Yolanda Edmond Vice President for University Advancement Senior Associate Vice President of Human Resources Kevin Granger DeAnna Nwankwo Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer OFFICERS OF ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION Joan R.M. Bullock Rockell Brown-Burton Azime S. Saydam Dean, Thurgood Marshall Interim Dean, School of Communication Interim Dean, College of Science, School of Law Engineering and Technology Bernnell Peltier-Glaze Gregory H. Maddox Interim Dean, College of Education Dianne Jemison Pollard Dean, The Graduate School Dean, Thomas F. Freeman George Klay Kieh, Jr. Honors College Needha Boutte-Queen Dean, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland Dean, College of Liberal Arts School of Public Affairs Haiying Sarah Li and Behavioral Sciences Interim Executive Director Rashid Mosavin David Yen LeWanna Hobbs Dean, College of Pharmacy and Dean, Jesse H. Jones University Registrar Health Sciences School of Business Our Mission Texas Southern University is a comprehensive metropolitan university. Building on its legacy as an Historically Black institution, the University provides academic and research programs that address critical urban issues and prepare an ethnically diverse student population to become a force for positive change in a global society. 2 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY INTERIM PRESIDENT KENNETH R. HUEWITT enneth “Ken” Huewitt currently serves as Interim President of Texas Southern University. He was hired in 2017 as TSU’s Vice President of Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing Kall financial functions of the university including Treasury & Budget, Administration & Finance, Risk Management, the Controller’s Office, Procurement Services, Facilities & Maintenance, and Building & Grounds. During his time as CFO, the university’s investment rating (Moody’s) has improved from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ to ‘positive’ over a three-year period. A three-year strategic Capital Expenditure Plan was developed and implemented, “days cash on hand” more than doubled, and a negative reserve in 2016 was transformed into a healthy, positive reserve. Huewitt began his career as an auditor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. He has held a variety of roles during his career including Senior Audit Specialist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Senior Associate for Coopers & Lybrand, and Regional Director of Finance for The ServiceMaster Corporation. After leaving ServiceMaster, he joined the Finance Team at the Houston Independent School District. Huewitt served as the Controller focusing on Budgets, Payroll, Treasury, Food Services Accounting, General Accounting and Bond Fund Accounting, as well as handling day-to-day operations of the Controller’s Office during his first 11 years with the district. He went on to serve as Chief Financial Officer leading all the financial services functions of the district. He developed and executed strategic plans and district-wide policies and programs related to the financial activities of HISD, impacting 215,000 students on 283 campuses, and overseeing a $1.8 billion general operating budget. Huewitt was named Chief Financial Officer of the Year in 2015 by the Council of the Great Cities Schools. This national honor is bestowed each year through the Bill Wise Awards Program to recognize Chief Financial Officers in urban school districts who exemplify professionalism, commitment, integrity, strong leadership and advocacy for all students.. Huewitt holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Financial Services Auditor and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He is a member of several organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and The Institute of Internal Auditors. He served as Chairman of the Texas State Development Foundation Board, member of the T-Association Board, and past-president of the Alumni Association Board. While attending Texas State, he was a member of the back-to-back National Championship football teams in 1981 and 1982. In 2007, Ken was an inductee into the T-Association’s Hall of Honor, the highest honor for any athlete at Texas State. He and his wife are the proud parents of two children. 2 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPRING COMMENCEMENT 2021 3 A CONCISE HISTORY OF TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY exas Southern University, a special-purpose institution for urban programming, has a history that dates back to 1927. The University T developed from several antecedents: extension classes, a junior college, and a four-year private institution, eventually becoming a state-supported institution of higher education. Texas Southern became a state University during the era of segregation when the State of Texas denied entrance into the University of Texas Law School to Heman Marion Sweatt, an African-American. The Texas State Senate of the 50th Legislature passed Senate Bill 140 on March 3, 1947, providing for the establishment of the institution, including a law school, to be located in Houston. This bill was complemented by House Bill 788, which called for the purchase of a 53-acre site to house the campus. Thus, the Texas State University for Negroes was born, becoming Texas Southern University on June 1, 1951. Today, Texas Southern University offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in the following academic colleges and schools: the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, The Graduate School, the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences, the Jesse H. Jones School of Business, the School of Communication, the College of Education, the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, and the Thomas F. Freeman Honors College. Special programs and projects include the NASA Research Center, Center for Excellence in Urban Education, the Center for Transportation Training and Research, the National Center for Excellence in Petrochemical Transportation Safety, the Center on the Family, the Center for Justice Research, and the Mickey Leland Center for Environment, Justice, and Sustainability. Today, Texas Southern University is staffed by approximately 1,322 faculty and support personnel. TSU enrolls students representing ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. 4 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 4 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SPRING COMMENCEMENT 2021 5 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER BENJAMIN CRUMP CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, ATTORNEY, AUTHOR AND MEDIA INFLUENCER hrough a steadfast dedication to justice and service, renowned civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social justice, earning the nickname “Black America’s Attorney General.” His legal acumen has ensured that Tthose marginalized in American society are protected by their nation’s contract with its constituency. He is the founder and principal owner of Ben Crump Law. Crump’s tireless advocacy has led to legislation preventing excessive force and developing implicit bias training and policies. He has been nationally recognized as the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, and Ebony Magazine Power 100 Most Influential African Americans. In 2016, he was designated as an Honorary Fellow by the University of Pennsylvania College of Law representing families in several high-profile civil rights cases including Trayvon Martin, who was killed in 2012 by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida; Michael Brown, who was killed in 2014 by a law enforcement officer in Ferguson, Missouri; Stephon Clark, who was killed in 2018 by police officers in Sacramento, California; as well as the residents of Flint, Michigan, who were affected by poisoned water from the Flint River. Crump represented nine of the 13 black women who were victims in the Holtzclaw Oklahoma City Police rape case in 2015 and worked on