On Thursday, October 26, 2017, the Office of Pre-Professional and Honors Curriculum Programs held its 76th Biannual Honors Convocation. Held in the Oakland Memorial Chapel, the program honored over 200 Presidential Scholars and over 450 Dean’s Scholars.
Dr. Donzell Lee, Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, gave the occasion where he expressed the importance of academic achievement.
The Convocation featured performances by Alcorn’s Concert Choir which is directed by Dr. Alona Alexander, soloist Natalya Smith and Alcorn’s Men’s Chorale. There was also a presentation speaker, the Honorable Senator Willie Simmons. Senator Simmons is currently serving as the Mississippi State Senator of District 13. He serves on eight Senate committees which consists of Agriculture, Appropriations, Corrections, Legislative and Budget, Ports and Marine Resources, Public Health and Welfare, State Library, Tourism and he is the Chairman of the Highways and Transportation Committee. He is also an Alcorn alumnus.
Throughout his presentation, Senator Simmons talked about perseverance and elaborated on how students should overcome obstacles as they matriculate through college. He encouraged students to continue to strive for excellence.
Following the recognition of honorees by Alfred Galtney J.D., Dr. Renaldo Murray, Assistant Dean and Interim Chairman, Department of Fine Arts, presented a special award to O’Neal Jones for his academic achievement and his overall contribution to the Music Department. Dr. Alfred Rankins, Jr., 19th President of Alcorn State University gave the closing remarks. Following the closing remarks, the colors were retired by the Braves’ Battalion.
Samps Taylor, an Instrumental Performance major, gave some remarks about the Convocation by stating, “This year the guest speaker did a really good job at portraying the overall purpose of the Honors Convocation to the scholars because he spoke on things that were easy to relate to as a college student.”
Chelsea Quinn, an Animal Science major, also gave some remarks about the Convocation by stating, “I thought that it was a great experience to be recognized by the University for my accomplishments.”