Albany State University’s Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 4, at 10 a.m. in the Albany Civic Center. We are honored to announce that United States Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock will serve as the commencement speaker. 

Senator Warnock was raised in public housing in Savannah, Georgia and is the eleventh of twelve children born to pastors Jonathan and Verlene Warnock, who instilled a sense of service in Warnock at a very young age. 

A product of good public policy, Warnock is a Head Start and Upward Bound alum, and was inspired by Dr. King’s teachings to matriculate to Atlanta’s historic Morehouse College—using Pell Grants and low-interest student loans to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Following his graduation from Morehouse, he went on to receive his doctorate at the renowned Union Theological Seminary.

Since 2005, Warnock has served as Senior Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church. Additionally, Senator Warnock has long believed his ministry of service does not stop at the church doors, and as a pastor and longtime social justice advocate has worked to expand health care access, safeguard nutrition benefits, protect democracy and end mass incarceration.

Elected Georgia’s first Black Senator in 2021, Reverend Warnock has carried his service and advocacy into the Senate, where he has helped successfully pass legislation to create jobs, address the maternal mortality crisis and cap insulin costs for seniors at $35 a month. Senator Warnock also was a lead negotiator of the only voting rights legislation to secure the support of the full Senate Democratic caucus. 

The father of two young children and an ardent champion for education, Senator Reverend Warnock has actively worked in the Senate to bolster K-12 and higher education in Georgia and across the country. The Senator introduced legislation, the HEADWAY Act, to expand access to early learning, and helped pass the American Rescue Plan which made significant investments in the nation’s K-12 schools.

On the higher education front, Senator Warnock has successfully secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Georgia’s HBCUs, and more than $7 billion in total for HBCU campuses across the country. The Senator has also championed meaningful student debt cancellation and successfully pushed the Biden Administration to provide $138 billion and counting in student debt cancellation for roughly 4 million Americans to date.

Additionally, Warnock has pushed to strengthen state support for 1890’s land-grant colleges and universities, to ensure they get their fair share of funding, through the Land-Grant Research Equity and Accountability Act and has passed legislation to honor first-generation college students.

Senator Reverend Warnock's commitment to service, justice, and education embodies the spirit of resilience and progress, making him an inspiring choice to address the graduating class of Albany State University.