“Schoolhouse Door” Participant Vivian Malone Jones to Address Grads at UA Summer Commencement August 12

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama will hold its summer commencement exercises Saturday, Aug. 12, at Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus. Approximately 1,100 degrees will be conferred during the 9 a.m. ceremony.

Vivian Malone Jones, The University of Alabama’s first African-American graduate, will be the featured speaker. She will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at the ceremony.

Jones enrolled at UA on June 11, 1963, following Gov. George Wallace’s unsuccessful “stand in the schoolhouse door,” and in 1965 received her degree in business management. In 1996, she retired after more than 30 years in various federal government positions that culminated with her position as director of the Office of Environmental Justice of the Environmental Protection Agency. She currently works with the Atlanta Associates of MONY Life Insurance Company of America

For more information on commencement, contact Suzanne Dowling in media relations at 205/348-8324.