THIBODAUX, La. — The Nicholls State University 111th Commencement is set to take place on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, in John L. Guidry Stadium at 9 a.m. Graduates from the colleges of Business Administration, Education and Behavioral Sciences, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Sciences and Technology and the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute will be in attendance. All Summer and Fall 2022 graduates will participate in this ceremony including all Master, Bachelor and Associate degrees.
The ceremony’s guest speaker is Dr. O. Cleveland Hill, a Mississippi native who was offered a scholarship and recruited to play basketball at Nicholls in 1968. He became the first black athlete to wear a Colonel uniform. As a sophomore, his teammates voted him team captain, making him the first non-senior to serve in that position in school history.
During Hill’s senior season, the Colonels made it to the NAIA playoffs; this was the first time a Colonel basketball team advanced to post-season competition in school history. Hill finished his playing career in 1972 as the all-time leading scorer and all-time rebound leader.
Just two months after receiving his Bachelor of Arts in 1973, Hill joined the army. In 1975, he returned to Nicholls as a student assistant basketball coach while he worked to complete his Master of Education degree. After receiving his MEd in 1979, Hill served as the head basketball coach and assistant football coach at East Thibodaux Junior High School.
Two years later, Hill was hired as an assistant basketball coach at Nicholls. He remained at Nicholls as an Assistant Professor of Physical Education and later became the Director of Student Teaching. In 1999, Dr. Hill became the Dean of the College of Education, working daily on new initiatives, grants and accreditation efforts. He later retired as Dean in 2006.
During the ceremony, the University will award an Honorary Doctorate to Dr. Henry J. Lafont, Jr. (BA ‘76), owner and attorney at law for Henry J. Lafont, Jr. Attorney at Law. Dr. Lafont is a former assistant and adjunct professor for Nicholls’ Department of Government.
He has held numerous positions in public office, committees and boards while also being part of several professional and civic organizations. Lafont was named “Mr. Nicholls,” and inducted into the Nicholls Hall of Fame in 1976. He was also named Nicholls’ College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumnus in 2014, and more recently, awarded the Lafourche Chamber of Commerce Community Hero Award in 2021.
For more information and updates, visit https://www.nicholls.edu/commencement/.
Original source can be found here.
