Morehouse College will welcome Joseph R. Biden, the 46th President of the United States of America, as its keynote speaker for the 140th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 9 a.m. on the College's Century Campus. 
President Biden's speech will culminate a week of undergraduate and alumni reunion events, celebrating the class of 2024 as well as milestone alumni anniversaries, including Academy Award-winning director and producer Spike Lee '79; human rights activist Martin Luther King III '79; Global Head of Blackstone Strategic Partners Verdun Perry '94; pioneering tech entrepreneur, investor and inventor Paul Q. Judge'99; and Oscar, Tony and Emmy Award-nominated actor Brian Tyree Henry '99. Additionally, honorary doctorates will be presented to President Biden and Dr. Michael Lucius Lomax '68, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), who is also celebrating 20 years of service with UNCF.
President Biden served as a senator from Delaware for 36 years before assuming the role of the 47th Vice President of the United States. Following his victory in the 2020 presidential primary election, President Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. He also served as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 16 years, becoming widely recognized for writing and spearheading landmark legislation. President Biden also served as chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, playing a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
Dr. Michael L. Lomax '68, a distinguished fundraising executive, author, educator, and the esteemed president and CEO of UNCF, will be honored with the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for his dedicated leadership in leading the nation's largest private provider of scholarships and educational support to African American students. Under Lomax’s leadership, UNCF has raised more than $4 billion and helped more than 150,000 students earn college degrees. As a leading advocate of college readiness, UNCF enables 50,000 students to attend college through annual scholarships. Dr. Lomax oversees the organization’s 400-plus scholarship initiatives, which award more than 10,000 scholarships a year. He also launched UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building, which supports member HBCUs in becoming stronger, more effective, and more self-sustaining.
The traditional baccalaureate service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2024, in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.The speaker will be Reginald W. Sharpe Jr. '13, senior pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois. Pastor Sharpe holds esteemed credentials as a charter member of the Academy of Preachers and an inductee into the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers. Additionally, he has contributed to academia as an adjunct professor in the Religion and Philosophy Department at the College. Since assuming leadership of Fellowship Chicago in December 2019, Pastor Sharpe has overseen remarkable growth, even amidst the challenges of the pandemic. Notably, he spearheaded #TheVirtualShip, a virtual extension of the church's ministry, engaging an average audience of 25,000 people weekly.
For a complete list of commencement events and supporting information, visit morehouse.edu/commencement.
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