Albany State University graduates 300 at fall commencement

ALBANY — The approximately 300 fall graduates of Albany State University were encouraged on Saturday to maintain the institution’s legacy and move through the next chapter of their life with determination.

The graduates, receiving degrees on the education specialist, master’s and bachelor’s degree levels, were at the Albany Civic Center taking part in the final commencement ceremony ahead of the school’s consolidation with Darton State College next month.

Albany State President Art Dunning, in his commencement address, discussed the changes ahead for the institution, advising the graduating class to make a commitment to remain supporters of ASU, despite the fact that the institution is going through such impactful change.

“Albany State University is changing, and I want you to be an advocate (in support) of that change,” he said.

Christopher Blake, president of Middle Georgia State University, delivered the keynote address to the graduates. He started his remarks by noting that a degree gives a person a discipline meant to help them interpret the flow of information in an ever-changing society presenting challenges as that flow gets faster.

“Your degree should help you measure information as you find it,” he said.

He made note of the term “post-truth,” this year’s Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year — which he said might have been more commonly known as propaganda, or lies, during the World War II era. At the same time, Blake said the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s has begun to play out again in the 21st century in a different way.

In the face of those obstacles, Blake told the graduates to embrace responsibility, which he said can mean apologizing or getting back up on the horse when a mistake is made, but also accepting accountability for their own actions.

“You are not defined by what people say about you,” he said.

Blake went on to say that Albany State itself is an example of that, having come back from the Flood of 1994 with new life. He urged a similar mindset as the graduates move into the world they now have to face.

“You now have a torch, and you will pass it on,” he said. “(Your education) gives you the tools and the knowledge to bring light to the world.”

In addition to the normal presentation of graduates, the ceremony also recognized and honored a student whose life was ended before he could walk across the stage with his degree.

Alexander Smith, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the 200 block of the Liberty Expressway in August, was due to graduate from ASU on Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Dunning presented a degree posthumously to his family at the ceremony.

The program also included appearances by the Albany State Concert Chorale and the Rev. Theodus Drake Jr. from Second Mt. Zion Baptist Church.