Lt. Gov. Austin Davis served as keynote speaker Saturday at the 169th commencement of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania at Cheyney’s Historic Quadrangle.
The Class of 2024 is the university’s largest graduating class in five years, with over 130 undergraduate degrees being conferred, Cheyney said.
The graduates, along with their loved ones and the Cheyney faculty, heard from the commonwealth’s first Black lieutenant governor and the youngest lieutenant governor in the country at age 34, the school said.
“We are thrilled to have Lt. Gov. Davis join us for this momentous occasion for our seniors and see how he helps inspire the next generation of Black excellence and leadership in our country,” said President Aaron A. Walton said in a press release prior to Saturday. “He is someone with a story that many of our students can resonate with and they can take a lot away from his short yet trailblazing time in public service.”
“I’m honored to share in this experience with Cheyney’s 2024 graduates, as they take this monumental step forward into the next phase of their lives,” Davis said in a press release prior to Saturday. “Over its 187 years, Cheyney has trained future doctors, CEOs, journalists, educators, and civil rights leaders, and I can’t wait to see what this year’s graduates do in the years to come. While I’m proud to be Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor, it’s even more important that I’m not the last. I hope my experience inspires the next generation of Black Pennsylvanians to take up the mantle of public service.”
Davis has used the power of his office to ensure that students across Pennsylvania see improvements in the foundations that deliver the opportunity for them to achieve strong academic performances. This includes but is not limited to his advocacy around increased investments for public higher education and student mental health, as well as his continued efforts with relation to ending gun violence.
Cheyney was founded in 1837 and is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. www.cheyney.edu
