Shaw University to Host Baccalaureate and Commencement Ceremonies May 12 And May 13
RALEIGH, N.C. – Shaw University’s Commencement exercise will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 10 a.m. Tech entrepreneur Natalie Madeira Cofield will be the 2023 Commencement Speaker. Shaw University also will hold its 2023 Baccalaureate Service for graduating seniors on Friday, May 12. The Senior Bell Ceremony at the Bell Tower will begin at 8:45 a.m., and official Baccalaureate Services begin at 9:30 a.m. The service will be held on campus in the Thomas J. Boyd Chapel featuring guest speaker and two-time Shaw alumnus Reverend Douglas Williams, III.
About the Baccalaureate speaker:
Reverend Douglas L. Williams, III is a native of New Jersey and the 5th Senior Pastor of the historic Zion Hill Baptist Church of Newark. His journey into ministry began in May of 2007 when he preached his initial sermon under the tutelage of Reverend Dr. Kenneth L. Saunders, Sr. Williams is a 2008 graduate of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and Philosophy. He later returned to Shaw Divinity School on a Presidential Scholarship, where he earned his Master of Arts in Christian Education in 2021. He is also the inaugural recipient of the C.T. Vivian Scholarship and Fellowship in Leadership and Social Justice. While a student at Shaw Divinity School, he served as Youth Pastor at Pleasant Union Christian Church and Saint John AME Church, both located in Raleigh. On May 1, 2011, Williams was installed as Senior Pastor of Zion Hill, becoming the successor to the late Reverend Dr. J.R. Stanford.
About the Commencement speaker:
Natalie Madeira Cofield is a former presidentially appointed czar for small businesses and has been named one of the most powerful women in business by Entrepreneur Magazine. An award-winning entrepreneur, philanthropist, political appointee, and economic activist, Cofield has provided inspiration, insight, and advisement to some of the nation’s most prominent CEOs of billion-dollar organizations, executives of global brands, senior advisors to the White House, majors of leading national cities, community activists and leaders. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and produced the first-ever Women’s Business Summit for SBA featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and senior cabinet members of the Biden-Harris Administration.
As a presidentially appointed Assistant Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Cofield advised on the deployment of $1.2 trillion in funding. She was directly responsible for supporting the deployment of more than $200 million in funding to ecosystems and entrepreneurs throughout the country during the most significant economic crisis in modern history. Most recently, Cofield was a Presidential Appointee with the Biden-Harris Administration, where she served as the head, leading the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration and was responsible for managing a grant-making budget of $70 million and funding the largest expansion of the Women’s Business Center network in SBA history. Cofield is co-founder of the $14M Coalition to Back Black Business, which was responsible for funding nearly 1,000 Black-owned businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. She received her master’s degree in Public Administration, Economic Development from Baruch College and her bachelor’s degree from Howard University.
Dr. Paulette Dillard, President of Shaw University, said, “The Shaw University campus is pleased to welcome back alumnus Rev. Douglas L. Williams, III, to campus as our 2023 Baccalaureate speaker to inspire and uplift our students. We are also very proud to announce philanthropist and entrepreneur Natalie Madeira Cofield as our 2023 Commencement speaker, whose successful career path will serve as an inspiration to our graduates and the communities of support around them. These two distinguished individuals represent the goals and aspirations of Shaw University, where our mission is to advance knowledge, facilitate student learning and achievement, and enhance the spiritual and ethical values of our students – as part of their preparation to become global leaders. We’re excited for our students and look forward to celebrating this major academic accomplishment with our faculty, staff, and the greater Shaw University community.”
Shaw University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is the first historically Black institution of higher education founded in North Carolina and is among the oldest in the nation. The University was founded in 1865 by Henry Martin Tupper. Dr. Paulette Dillard currently serves as the University’s 18th President. For more information, visit: www.shawu.edu