TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Speaking at The University of Alabama spring commencement exercises today, acclaimed author and journalist, Gay Talese, praised the progress Alabama has made in the area of race relations as compared with other parts of the United States.
“Indeed, it (UA) — and the entire state of Alabama along with it — has changed for the better more than any other state that I have recently traveled through in this nation during the last half of the 20th century.
“I cannot say as much for New York, where I reside, nor for my birthplace on the Jersey shore,” said Talese, a New Jersey native who now resides now in New York.
Two University-wide commencement ceremonies were held at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively, to award degrees.
Today’s ceremonies capped off the 10th straight year in which 4,000 or more students have graduated from UA. Today, 2,292 degrees were awarded, bringing the total number of graduates in this academic year to more than 4,400. UA holds commencement ceremonies three times a year — in May, August and December. With this graduating class, UA has awarded more than 178,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university.
Talese, speaking at both ceremonies and receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree, is largely credited with founding the “New Journalism” movement that emphasized creativity, a narrative style, dialogue and other features often reserved for fiction. He has authored the best selling books, “The Kingdom and the Power,” “Honor Thy Father,” and his most recent work, “Unto the Sons.”
A 1953 alumnus of the Capstone, Talese said his many visits to UA and Alabama over the years have allowed him to see the state’s progress.
“The University I graduated from has faded into vaguely familiar forms that loom large only in my memory. But I do not lament this fact — I celebrate it. Because the campus that I knew has been replaced by something grander, more impressive, more humane, more inclusive,” said Talese, who earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from UA in 1953.
While at UA, Talese was sports editor for the “Crimson White,” UA’s student newspaper. He served as a reporter for “The New York Times” from 1953-1965. In 1966, he became a contributing editor for Esquire Magazine and also contributed articles to Reader’s Digest, New York Times Magazine and Saturday Evening Post.
His awards and recognition include the 1970 Christopher Book Award for The Kingdom and the Power; the 1988 UA Society for the Fine Arts’ Alumni Award, the 1998 UA College of Communication Clarence Cason Writing Award; and he was named the first Kelly Writers House Fellow in 1999.
The UA School of Law had its own ceremony, with U.S. District Judge Inge Prytz Johnson delivering its commencement address.
UA Law’s first recipient of the master of comparative law degree in 1970, Johnson received her juris doctor degree from The University of Alabama in 1973. She went on to serve as the first woman elected circuit judge in the state of Alabama, presiding over the 31st Circuit in Colbert County for 20 years before becoming a U.S. District Judge in 1998.
Among this year’s graduating class:
Sanja Alickovic: When 12-year-old Alickovic left her family and boarded the next to last flight out of war-torn Bosnia, she had no idea she would end up attending college in Alabama. Now, a little less than 10 years later, she graduated today with honors (a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average) with a degree in marketing. Alickovic’s route to UA came through UA graduate Christopher Davis of Mobile, who met Alickovic while he was teaching English in Slovenia. After high school graduation, Alickovic was invited by Davis’ family to come for a visit. The Davis’encouraged her to attend UA, and after she visited Tuscaloosa, Alickovic knew she had found her college home.
Sylvia Elliott: For more than 40 years, Sylvia Elliott, 63, an administrative assistant for the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has been taking college classes off and on as she has moved around the country and raised her family. Today, not only was Elliott the proud recipient of her degree, but she was also the proud mother of another graduate — her daughter, Samantha, received her master’s degree in women’s studies.
Jerry Pate: Today, PGA golfer Jerry Pate took care of some unfinished business he’s had with UA since the 1970s — earning his college degree in interdisciplinary studies. To make the day even more special, Pate’s daughter, Jennifer, received her degree in human development and family studies today also.
Mike Stevenson: Today, UA graduate Mike Stevenson received his doctorate degree – the third degree he’s earned since 1994. Stevenson has earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in metallurgical and materials engineering, all from UA, in seven straight years. According to UA’s records office, no other graduate has completed a doctorate in this time frame in the past 20 years.
Contact
Suzanne Dowling, (205) 348-5320