Commencement Keynote Speakers
Class of 2024
Dr. Michael L. Lomax
Commencement Keynote Speaker
Dr. Michael L. Lomax serves as president and CEO of UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization and the largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to underrepresented students.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Dr. Lomax entered Morehouse College at the age of 16 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English as one of the college’s inaugural Phi Beta Kappa graduates. He earned a Master of Arts degree in English literature from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in American and African American literature from Emory University. Dr. Lomax has served on the faculty of both Morehouse and Spelman Colleges.
Dr. Lomax began his civic career in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as the director of research and special assistant to then Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. While in this position, Lomax helped establish the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs, where he served as its first director.
First Lady Rev. Sarah Priester
Baccalaureate Keynote Speaker
Stay tuned for updates.
 First Lady Reverend Sarah Lynette Priester is a native of Orangeburg, SC. She is the daughter of the late Sinclair and the late Pastor Blond Ceal Dantzler (Free Spirit Baptist Church). She has enjoyed 30 years of marriage to Reverend Charcey N. Priester, Sr, pastor of the St. Paul Baptist Church, Orangeburg, S.C. She is the proud mother of two children, Charcey, Jr. and Majesty.Â
Lady Priester received her formal education in the public schools of Orangeburg County.Â
She went on to receive her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from South Carolina State University in English and Secondary English Education.Â
She received her PhD, ABD from the University of South Carolina in English with a concentration in Composition and Rhetoric and a specialization in Black Studies.Â
Presently, she is a Professor of English in the Department of English and Communications at South Carolina State University.Â
