Gloria Ladson-Billings, Educator and Theorist, Named Towson University Commencement Speaker

April 23, 2019   |   By Libby Solomon

The Baltimore Sun

Gloria Ladson-Billings, an educator and theorist whose work focuses on educating African-American students, will be Towson University’s spring commencement speaker.

The professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is also president of the National Academy of Education, will speak at the College of Education’s commencement ceremony on May 22, according to university spokesman Sean Welsh.

Ladson-Billings is the author of books about teaching diverse student populations, including “The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children.”

Towson University has six commencement ceremonies, one for each of its colleges running between May 22 and May 24, each with separate alumni speakers. The designation of University Commencement Speaker is made for one speaker each year in a rotation among the colleges, Welsh said.

Those speakers will include:

Kara Ball, a 2008 graduate, speaking for the College of Education;
Brian Stelter, a 2007 graduate and host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, speaking for the College of Fine Arts and Communications;
Brian Davis, a 1997 graduate, speaking for the College of Business and Economics;
Richard Holley, a 1996 graduate, speaking for the College of Health Professions;
E. Clarke Porter, a 1976 graduate, speaking for the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics; and
Gerry Gaeng, a 1981 graduate, speaking for the College of Liberal Arts.