---
title: Morehouse College to Welcome Dr. Cornel West as Commencement Speaker & Present Honorary Degrees to West, Ava DuVernay, Dennis Hubert, and its retiring president, Dr. David A. Thomas
description: Morehouse College will welcome Dr. Cornel West as its keynote speaker for the 141st Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 9 a.m.
---

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# [Morehouse College to Welcome Dr. Cornel West as Commencement Speaker & Present Honorary Degrees to West, Ava DuVernay, Dennis Hubert, and its retiring president, Dr. David A. Thomas](https://news.morehouse.edu/morehouse-college-2025-commencement)

 Written by [Morehouse College](https://news.morehouse.edu/author/morehouse-college) | Apr 15, 2025, 5:27:12 PM

Morehouse College will welcome Dr. Cornel West, American philosopher, scholar of African American studies, and activist, as its keynote speaker for the 141st [Morehouse College Commencement](https://morehouse.edu/events/signature-events/commencement/) Exercises on** Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 9 a.m.** on the College's Century Campus. West will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the institution.

Dr. West's speech will culminate a week of undergraduate and alumni reunion events, celebrating the class of 2025, as well as milestone alumni anniversaries, including 10th President of Morehouse College, **Robert Franklin ’75**; Morehouse Board Chair, **Willie Woods ’85**; former U.S Congressman, **Cedric Richmond ’95**; American attorney, political commentator, and politician, **Bakari Sellers ’05**; as well as business executive and art enthusiast, **George Wells ’00**.

Additionally, honorary doctorates will be presented to two exemplary individuals whose lives reflect a legacy of scholarship, leadership, storytelling, and justice:

- **Ava DuVernay: **An award-winning filmmaker, director and storyteller, celebrated for *Selma*, *13th,* *When They See Us, Brown Sugar, *and * *She is known as the highest-grossing Black woman director in U.S. box office history.
- ** David A. Thomas: **The retiring 12th president of Morehouse College holds the distinction of raising more funds than any other president in the College's 158-year history. Under his leadership, Morehouse has nearly completed a record-breaking [$500 million 'Making Men of Consequence' capital campaign](https://impact.morehouse.edu/campaign/) and experienced unprecedented growth in national and global influence.

An honorary bachelors will be presented posthumously to **Dennis O. Hubert **(1911–1930), a sophomore divinity school student at Morehouse College who was lynched by a racially charged mob on June 15, 1930, at the age of 18 on the playground of Atlanta's segregated Crogman School. Morehouse College will honor his life and legacy with a posthumous honorary degree.

The traditional Baccalaureate Service will occur at **3 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025**, in the **Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel**. This year’s speaker is **Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley ’08, Ph.D.**, an esteemed scholar, humanitarian, and pastor of the Historic Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts — one of the nation’s oldest open and affirming Black Baptist congregations, founded by formerly enslaved Africans during Reconstruction. Dr. Crowley is a nationally recognized expert in religion, theology, and queer theory. He serves as a Lecturer in Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School, a Founding Faculty Affiliate of the Global Human Rights Program at Harvard Kennedy School, and the 2024–2027 Visiting Professor and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter in England.

For a complete list of commencement events and supporting information, visit [morehouse.edu/commencement](https://morehouse.edu/about/commencement/). 

[View full post](https://news.morehouse.edu/morehouse-college-2025-commencement)

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