FSU To Hold On-Campus Commencement For More Than 1,200 Graduates

Date: April 08, 2021

Fayetteville State University (FSU) will hold its spring 2021 Commencement exercises in person. More than 1,200 graduates will become alumni during two ceremonies scheduled for May 8, 2021 in Luther "Nick" Jeralds Stadium on the FSU campus. A limited number of tickets is available to each graduate, and COVID-19 protocols will be followed. Commencement will be held rain or shine.

The College of Education and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will graduate at 9 a.m. The Broadwell College of Business and Economics and the College of Health, Science and Technology will commence at 3 p.m. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in both ceremonies. A limited number of spring 2020 graduates also will participate.

A webpage with detailed information about the ceremonies has been set up. Please go to: www.uncfsu.edu/commencement.  Both ceremonies will be live-streamed. Live-streaming information will be available on the commencement webpage.

Presiding over commencement will be Chancellor Darrell Allison. Allison is the 12th chief executive officer of FSU. His career in education spans decades of service advocating on behalf of students and expanding educational opportunities for underserved families in North Carolina and across the nation.

Serving on the Board of Governors from 2017 to late 2020, he was a vocal supporter of the system's historically minority-serving institutions. As the inaugural chair of the Historically Minority-Serving Institutions (HMSI) Committee, Allison helped lead efforts resulting in all 17 campuses gaining at least $2 million for repairs and renovations - an investment that especially supported the system's smaller universities. Allison advocated for a multi-million-dollar upgrade for fundraising software and data management for the universities, which ushered in cost savings and strengthened fundraising programs.

Allison also initiated and finalized a partnership with UNC-Chapel Hill's NC Policy Collaboratory, which awarded $6 million for COVID-19 programming and research at historically minority-serving institutions.

While on the UNC Board of Governors, Allison served on several committees, including: Budget and Finance; Historically Minority-Serving Institutions (chair); UNC System Racial Equity Task Force (chair); Educational Planning, Policies and Programs (secretary); Strategic Initiatives Committee; and UNC K-12 Laboratory Schools.

Prior to that, Allison served on the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Board of Trustees, where he played a key role on the Advancement, Athletics and External Affairs, Academic and Student Affairs committees, and as a member of the NCCU Chancellor Search Committee. In 2017, Allison endowed a scholarship fund at NCCU, his alma mater, in memory of his father, Thomas Allison.

Allison holds a Juris Doctor degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor's degree from NCCU. He and his wife La Nica are the proud parents of two daughters.

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