President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc H. Morial to Speak at Delgado’s Spring 2024 Commencement

April 18, 2024

Delgado Community College is excited to welcome Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, to address graduates and their guests at the College’s spring commencement at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at the UNO Lakefront Arena. 

“Marc Morial is an inspirational leader with many powerful insights to share with our graduates,” said Chancellor Larissa Littleton-Steib, Ph.D. “He has dedicated his life to improving social and economic conditions for African Americans and other underserved populations through advocacy, education and health care. He is the perfect person to address Delgado graduates as they prepare for the next chapters in their lives.”

"I am thrilled to address Delgado’s outstanding graduates,” Morial said. “I know many of the people who will walk across the stage are going on to complete bachelor’s degrees at four-year institutions, while others will bring their skills into the workplace. The opportunities that Delgado creates with its excellent, affordable and transferable credits have opened doors for generations of New Orleanians.”

Morial served as a highly successful and popular mayor of New Orleans from 1994-2002 and was the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2001. Prior to his term as mayor, Morial was a Louisiana State Senator and was a practicing attorney with an active high-profile practice. In 2003 he was tapped to serve as the president and CEO of the National Urban League.

“I am excited to hear the wisdom that Marc Morial will share with Delgado’s spring class of 2024. I know he will celebrate their accomplishments and spur them to take what they’ve learned and use that knowledge to improve their communities,” said Dr. Cheryl Myers, provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at Delgado. Myers will preside over the commencement exercises, joined by Chancellor Steib; college administrators; Elizabeth Shaye Hope, president of the faculty senate; and Nakia Brown-Bates, alumni association president. Kristopher LaMorte, professor of theater, will announce the names of the graduates.

Morial graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and African American Studies and went on to the Georgetown University Law Center. He has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by EBONY Magazine, one of the Top 50 Non-Profit Leaders by The NonProfit Times, one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in America, and he also has been inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, Ga.