Former astronaut to give 2017 commencement address
Former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go to space, will give the class of 2017’s commencement address, according to the office of Rice University President David Leebron.
Jemison flew an eight-day mission on the space shuttle Endeavor in 1992 as a science mission specialist, according to her National Aeronautics and Space Administration profile. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University in 1977, while also fulfilling the requirements for a degree in African and Afro-American Studies, then a medical degree from Cornell University four years later.
After graduating with her M.D., Jemison served as a medical officer in West Africa for the Peace Corps, according to the NASA profile. Since leaving NASA in 1993, she has worked to promote science and technology through private and nonprofit sector organizations. She is currently the principal of the 100 Year Starship project, a joint initiative between NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency which aims to ensure the development of interstellar travel in the next century.
Leebron’s office assembled a commencement speaker selection committee chaired by political science professor Melissa Marschall in April 2016 in order to put forward recommendations for the speaker. According to Baker College senior Mickyle Stanbury, Jemison was one of eight suggestions the committee originally gave the administration.
“I’m thrilled with our students’ choice of Dr. Jemison as Rice’s 2017 commencement speaker,” Leebron said in a press release made available to the Thresher. “She has a global reputation as a bold, pathbreaking and entrepreneurial leader. Her concern with improving opportunities for young people and harnessing the power of science has been evident in her many contributions. She has excelled in an incredible range of endeavors throughout her career, and I am confident she will bring an inspiring message to our students.”
Stanbury said she believes Jemison is an exceptional choice of speaker.
“As a woman of color pursuing engineering, Dr. Jemison is the kind of person I'm honored to have the pleasure of listening to on one of the most important days of my life,” Stanbury said.
Stanbury is studying mechanical engineering.
“Although I wasn't born in America and didn't spend my formative years here, the story of Mae Jemison is one of the first and memorable I'd heard about influential African-American women,” Stanbury said. “She's one of the women that's inspired me to continue to pursue my engineering degree, to aim for things that many think are unattainable.”
More from The Rice Thresher
Rice to support Harvard in lawsuit against research funding freeze
Rice, alongside 17 other research universities, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over more than $2 billion in frozen research grants.
Mayor Whitmire discusses ‘the state of Houston’ between audience protests at Baker Institute
John Whitmire’s remarks on the city’s budget, transportation and infrastructure were interrupted twice by shouts from audience members at a Baker Institute event May 29. At the event, which was open to the public, Whitmire spoke about the current state of Houston alongside former county judge Ed Emmett.
Rice reaffirms support for international students after Trump administration targets Harvard
Rice and the Office of International Students and Scholars said in a May 23 email that they are monitoring the Trump administration’s actions towards Harvard to bar the school from enrolling international students. A federal judge temporarily halted the move less than 24 hours later.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.