INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) will host its spring commencement on Saturday, May 11, 2024, beginning at 10 a.m. in the D. Stephen and Diane H. Walker Convocation Center. The ceremony will recognize the university’s approximately 220 graduates.  

The commencement speaker is Dr. Ann Brothers Smith, a WVSU alumna and retired educator. Smith was a 39-year employee of Detroit Public Schools where she served students and the community as a teacher, infant consultant, teacher consultant, assistant principal, principal, executive director for student achievement, and deputy chief academic officer.  When she retired in 2007, she was associate superintendent for school leadership. 

Smith has been involved with many educational and community organizations.  She was appointed by the Governor of West Virginia to the WVSU Board of Governors and served 10 years from 2011-2021.   She mentored administrators, teachers and students through her work with the National Alliance of Black School Educators, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (Golden Soror and Life Member), West Virginia State University and Wayne State University. 

Smith is the past President of the West Virginia State University National Alumni Association.  In the 55-year history of the Association, she is the first female to be elected to the position.   

WVSU holds commencement ceremonies in December and May of each year. 

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West Virginia State University is a public, land-grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.