2024 Commencement Speaker Announced

For Immediate Release: April 2, 2024

Contact: Jesse Vaughan, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer/jvaughan@rbc.edu

The 2024 Richard Bland College of William & Mary (RBC) Commencement is set for Wednesday, May 15 on the college grounds. Petersburg mayor Samuel Parham will be this year’s commencement speaker.

“As a highly respected leader and an alumnus of Richard Bland College, this year’s commencement speaker—the Honorable Sam Parham—will inspire the Class of 2024,” said RBC President Dr. Debbie L. Sydow. “It is particularly significant that Mayor Parham will deliver the keynote address at the first on-campus commencement ceremony since the pandemic.”

Parham (‘96) has served as mayor of Petersburg since 2017. He has held numerous leadership roles in the community, including Governor of the Petersburg Breakfast and Lunch Rotary Clubs and the Colonial Heights Rotary Club, as well as President of the Petersburg Breakfast Rotary Club. He also serves as a board member for the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, the Virginia Gateway Region, the Battersea Foundation, and the VCU Alumni Association.

RBC student Michael Mason, who serves as Secretary of Student Assembly, will be speaking at the ceremony as the Class of 2024 representative.

Click here for more information on the 2024 Commencement.