Alcorn State University conferred degrees upon 472 graduates Saturday during its 2026 Spring Commencement. There were 370 undergraduates and 102 graduate students.
Ceremonies were held in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex on the Lorman campus.
The morning ceremony honored graduates from the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and the School of Nursing, alongside the returning Golden Class of 1976. The afternoon ceremony recognized graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Education and Psychology.
An Alcorn State University graduate celebrates receiving her degree.
More than 86 members of the Class of 1976 returned to campus to mark 50 years since their own graduation.
“We are pleased to have over 86 graduates of the class of 1976 to return home,” said Dr. Marcus Ward, senior vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the ASU Foundation. “We celebrate you and we thank you.”
The class presented an endowment check of $138,463.98 and counting to the university.
Alcorn State University President Tracy M. Cook and Dr. Marcus Ward, senior vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the ASU Foundation, accept a $138,463.98 endowment check from the Golden Class of 1976 during the 2026 Spring Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 9, in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
Avantavis Carter, a senior education major from Hazlehurst, Mississippi, and the 68th SGA president of Alcorn State University, introduced the commencement speaker.
Atty. Pelicia Hall, a 1997 Alcorn State graduate, delivered the commencement address at both ceremonies.
She currently serves as president of the Alcorn State University National Alumni Association, a position she has held since January 2025, and was inducted into the ASUNAA Hall of Honor in May 2025.
Hall’s roots at Alcorn run deep. Her late father, Perry Everett and her mother, Patricia Everett, are both 1970 Alcorn State graduates. Her brothers are also alumni.
In March 2017, Hall became the first woman appointed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She served through January 2020, focusing on rehabilitation and reentry programming.
Alcorn State University President Tracy M. Cook and Provost Joyce Buckner Brown present commencement speaker Pelicia Hall with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the 2026 Spring Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 9, in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
Before that appointment, she served as chief of staff for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, lead counsel for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and special assistant attorney general in the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
She currently serves as executive vice president and chief regulatory officer for ViaPath Technologies.
Hall holds a Juris Doctor from Mississippi College School of Law and brings more than 20 years of legal experience to her work.
Hall challenged graduates to embrace three principles — leave with purpose, practice courageous compassion, and commit to lifelong learning.
“Your degree will open doors for you,” she told graduates. “But your integrity determines whether those doors stay open.”
She closed with a charge rooted in Alcorn’s mission.
“Go forward knowing that Alcorn has prepared you not just to make a living, but to make a difference.”
During the ceremony, Hall was bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Alcorn State University, the institution’s highest honor.
Nigel Caesar of Mendenhall, Mississippi, receives the 2026 Student Award of Excellence during Alcorn State University’s Spring Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 9, in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex. Pictured from left are Dr. Marcus Ward, senior vice president for institutional advancement; President Tracy M. Cook; Provost Joyce Buckner Brown; Caesar; ASU Foundation Board Chairman Dennis Thomas; and School of Business Dean Antwon Woods.
Dennis Thomas, chairman of the ASU Foundation Board of Directors, presented the Student Award of Excellence to Nigel Caesar of Mendenhall, Miss.
As part of his honor Caesar was presented a plaque and a $5,000 award from the ASU Foundation.
Caesar is a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate who maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his time at Alcorn.
A four-member faculty and staff committee selected the award recipient based on academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, special recognition, awards and a written essay.
“Nigel has distinguished himself as a well-rounded leader,” Thomas said. “His achievements include serving as a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Ambassador, member of the Dean’s Ambassadors Council, vice president of the Real Estate Club and president of the Investment Club.”
Caesar is also a founding contributor to both the Investment Club and the Real Estate Club and regularly hosted corporate and government executives for the Dean’s Speaker Series.
He was named Alcorn’s William Winter Scholar in February 2026.
As a musician, Caesar performed euphonium and served as band captain and first-chair section leader of the brass section in the Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Marching Band.
Upon graduation, he will begin his career with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the insurance brokerage industry.
The Alcorn State University National Alumni Association presented its 2026 Alcornite of the Year award to Ralph J. Holloway of Suffolk, Virginia.
The honor is the association’s highest, recognizing alumni who have achieved distinction through exceptional contribution to international, national, state or community welfare.
Holloway serves as senior benefits manager at ADP and brings more than 14 years of experience in human capital management.
He serves as vice president of the Alpha Phi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia, and as second vice president of the Alcorn State University District of Columbia Alumni Chapter.
As president of the Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Club, Holloway led the fundraising effort that raised $62,000 for the band’s participation in the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
He also serves as secretary of the G.W.C. Brown Legacy Education Fund, which awards $21,000 annually in scholarships to Black youth in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
Holloway earned his Bachelor of Arts from Alcorn State University.
Alcorn State University President Tracy M. Cook and Dr. Marcus Ward, senior vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the ASU Foundation, congratulate Andre Young, a member of the returning Golden Class of 1976, during the 2026 Spring Commencement ceremony.
President Cook recognized five members of the Golden Class of 1976 whose careers reflect the breadth of Alcorn’s legacy.
Jimmie Giles, named the class’s distinguished member, played 13 NFL seasons from 1978 to 1989, recording 350 receptions, 5,084 yards and 41 touchdowns. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection,1980–1982, 1986, and is a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor. Giles was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Col./Dr. Martha McRavin-Oliver became the first female Alcorn State alumna appointed commander and professor of military science for the university’s Army ROTC program in 1999. During her four years at Alcorn, she commissioned 8 to 10 cadets annually as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army and managed a Department of the Army budget and equipment resources valued at more than $2 million. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2006 after 34 1/2 years of service at the rank of colonel. She currently serves as special assistant to the president and to the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Jackson State University.
Stanley B. Harvey, a native of Port Gibson, Mississippi, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Alcorn State before going on to a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy. In 2016, he was appointed deputy hydrographer of the Navy on the Commander Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command staff, representing U.S. Navy hydrographic interests through international partnerships and liaison with the International Hydrographic Board. He also holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
Major Frank Branch retired from the U.S. Army in 1995 after 19 years of service, including assignments in Korea and Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Storm. He then joined Jim Hill High School in Jackson as senior Army instructor for the JROTC battalion, where he became known for producing what he called “million-dollar babies”, students who earned millions in college scholarships. Under his leadership, Jim Hill accumulated more than $139.9 million in scholarships. His battalion has donated more than 193,000 hours of community service since 1995. Branch has been inducted into the Alcorn State University National Hall of Honor and was named the No. 1 senior Army instructor out of 1,645 nationally. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Alcorn State University.
Lillian Theresa Harness Brady built a career defined by trailblazing firsts in corporate America. She became the first Black employee to rise to a senior manager position in accounting and finance at Lockheed Martin, overseeing a budget of more than $1 billion. She later became the first Black plant controller at Weyerhaeuser and went on to serve as corporate controller at Neel-Schaffer Engineers and Planners — again as the first Black employee to achieve that level of seniority at the firm. After more than 37 years in the corporate world, Brady retired in 2016 and opened her own accounting firm to provide professional support to small minority-owned businesses.
He also highlighted retired Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders as the first female elected SGA president at Alcorn State. In addition, Sanders was the first female circuit judge in the state of Mississippi.
“To the newest graduates of Alcorn State University, I wish you great success and Godspeed,” said President Tracy M. Cook.
