Contact: Kimberly Osborne (304) 766-3363 kosborne@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – More than 180 students will graduate from West Virginia State University (WVSU) on Saturday, Dec. 14, during two commencement ceremonies.
The first ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and will be for students graduating from the College of Professional Studies, the largest of the four colleges at WVSU.
The second ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. and will be for students graduating from the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Business and Social Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Both ceremonies will take place in the P. Ahmed Williams Auditorium, which is located on the second floor of Ferrell Hall.
Retired Brig. Gen. Walter F. Johnson III will be the speaker for both commencement ceremonies. Johnson was the Chairman of Eagle Group International, Inc., a full-service consulting firm with major civilian, federal and international practices. He led Eagle Group from a start-up family operation to a successful enterprise with over $150 million in annual revenue, and more than 1,500 employees in 30 different states and seven foreign countries at the time the company was sold.
In the early 1990s, he was the first President and CEO of Diversity in Health Management, a foundation-like organization he organized for the American Hospital Association, the American College of Health Services Executives and the National Association of Health Services Executives. Prior to serving as President of Diversity in Health Management, Johnson was a senior vice president with the American Hospital Association.
Johnson served in the military for 27 years, where he attained the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, the highest grade that could be achieved in the Medical Service Corps at that time. He was the first African-American and the youngest individual ever selected to serve as Chief of the Medical Service Corps.
A graduate of WVSU, Johnson earned his master’s degree at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and received advanced training at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
WVSU holds commencement ceremonies in December and May of each year. The December commencement ceremonies also recognize students who completed their degree qualifications during the summer.
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