“Forrest Gump” Author Winston Groom Speaks at UA Spring Commencement, Posthumous Degree Awarded to NFL Great Derrick Thomas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ‚ Best-selling author Winston Groom spoke Saturday to the 2,190 members of The University of Alabama’s 2000 graduating class.

“Be bold, be brave, and take chances,” Groom advised graduates. “Be honest, be kind, be decent, be tough, and be fair, and you’ll be just fine.”

Degrees were awarded during two University-wide commencement ceremonies held at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.

Saturday’s ceremonies capped off the ninth straight year 4,000 or more students graduated from UA. Approximately 2,190 students received May degrees, bringing the total number of graduates in this academic year to more than 4,500. With this graduating class, UA has awarded more than 174,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university.

Groom, who spoke both Saturday morning and afternoon, received an honorary doctorate of humane letters. He is best known for his 1986 novel “Forrest Gump” which received enthusiastic reviews and was adapted into the Academy Award-winning 1994 motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Sally Field.

Groom, a 1965 graduate of UA, told the audience of a trip back to campus some 10 years ago. During that visit, while standing between UA landmarks Denny Chimes and Gorgas Library, he was flooded with memories of his days as a student, Groom recalled.

“It came to me then that this is where the most fragrant days of our lives had been spent. I had never realized it until then.”

“In subsequent years, I’ve been back to the University many times, and I’ve made many friends.”

In addition to “Forrest Gump,” Groom is the author of 10 books, including “Gump & Co.,” his sequel to “Forrest Gump.” He also wrote the acclaimed Vietnam War novel, “Better Times Than These;” as well as the prize-winning, “As Summers Die;” the Civil War history, “Shrouds of Glory;” the Pulitzer Prize nominee, “Conversations with the Enemy;” and, most recently, “Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl,” a novel of blackmail and suspense.

Groom is currently working on “The Crimson Tide: An Illustrated History of Football at The University of Alabama,” due out this fall by The University of Alabama Press. The book covers the illustrious history of UA’s football from its first season in 1892 to the 1999 season.

Groom received his undergraduate degree in English from UA’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1965 and now serves on the Board of Visitors for UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences.

He served as an officer in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry in 1966 and 1967. He spent the next eight years working as a reporter with The Washington Star, honing his writing skills and earning Pulitzer Prize nominations before resigning to write fiction.

During the afternoon ceremony, UA awarded former Crimson Tide and NFL linebacker, the late Derrick Thomas, his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice posthumously. Accepting Thomas’ degree (criminal justice, social welfare) was his mother, Edith Morgan, and grandmother, Annie Adams.

Thomas died Feb. 8 of complications resulting from a Jan. 23 automobile accident that had left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Thomas was an All-American football player at Alabama and won the 1989 Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. He began his professional career with the Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1989. A nine-time Pro Bowl player, Thomas holds the NFL one-game record of seven sacks and ranks ninth on the career sack list.

In mid-February, the Derrick Thomas Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by an initial gift from Eliza and Hugh Culverhouse Jr. of Miami. The scholarship will benefit students who are committed to community service.

Other graduates receiving degrees included:

Rick Stephens — Five years ago, Rick Stephens would have never guessed he would be receiving his master’s degree in social work Saturday in front of thousands of people. But he did, and beside him, also in cap and gown, was the one who helped him the most his service dog, Chief. Stephens, a Vietnam veteran diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, said Chief is with him 24 hours a day to help anticipate possible anxiety attacks and to assist him through the day. “Chief gave me the possibility of having a life. I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this without him,” said Stephens.

Derek P. Green ‚ Air Force pilot Derek P. Green picked up his master’s of science degree in aerospace engineering Saturday on his first visit to the Tuscaloosa campus. Green, a 36-year-old VIP airlift pilot at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., earned his degree through a video-based distance learning program at UA known as QUEST (Quality University Extended Site Telecourses). QUEST provides professionals with a means of continuing their education without quitting their jobs or following a regimented class schedule. A 14-year military veteran, Green, in a newly acquired Air Force position, will soon begin piloting an ASTRA business jet used to fly various government and military dignitaries on time sensitive Congressional or national defense matters.