UA’s Spring Commencement Marks Sorensen’s Last Public Speech as UA President

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Andrew Sorensen gave his last public speech as president of The University of Alabama during the Capstone’s spring commencement ceremonies, held today on the UA campus.

Sorensen was recently named president of the University of South Carolina and will assume that position in July. He spoke at both the 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ceremonies.

“These past six years, I have been wonderfully fortunate to be your president. As I leave here to preside over the eight colleges and universities that comprise the University of South Carolina, I have been inundated by literally hundreds of well-wishers expressing their gratitude and appreciation. I have been profoundly moved by the generosity of these comments, but it has been my real pleasure to serve you,” said Sorensen, who has served as UA president since 1996.

In his speech, Sorensen invoked the University’s past while speaking of its recent growth.

“Although the phenomenal growth of The University of Alabama during this historic decade is truly remarkable in every way, we owe much of our ability to do wonderful things to the foundation that has been laid by those who preceded us. Their unstinting efforts evoke the observation of the Biblical author: ‘We have drunk from wells we did not dig,’ ” said Sorensen, “Yet, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. As I peer over the horizon into the next decade, further expansion of our endeavors must and will occur. I am fully confident that this magnificent University of Alabama family shall continue to demonstrate excellence in every facet of its existence,” he said.

Also during the ceremonies, acclaimed author and scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters; and the late Frank M. Johnson Jr. received the Hugo Black Award, posthumously.

Gates is the W.E.B. DuBois Professor of the Humanities and chair of Afro-American studies at Harvard University and director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research.

An influential cultural critic, Gates is the author of “Colored People: A Memoir,” which traces his childhood experiences in a small West Virginia town in the 1950s and 1960s; and “The Future of the Race,” co-authored with Cornel West.

Johnson, who died in 1999, is remembered for his historic contributions to civil rights issues of the last century while a U.S. District Court justice. The Black Award, named in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice and UA alumnus Hugo Black, recognizes distinguished service to the people of Alabama and the nation and is the highest award given by the University.

The UA School of Law had its own ceremony, with David Ellwanger, president of the Center for American and International Law, delivering its commencement address. A 1962 alumnus of the UA Law School, Ellwanger heads a center that is dedicated to the continuing education of lawyers and law enforcement officials across the United States and throughout the world.

With this graduating class of 2,250, UA has awarded more than 181,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university. UA holds commencement ceremonies three times a year.