![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/files\/2016\/12\/commencement-websiteimage.jpg\")
<\/a>William H. Kelly III\n<\/strong>Editor-in-Chief<\/em><\/p>\n
Current National Baptist Convention President Reverend Dr. Jerry Young is the featured speaker for the Jackson State University Fall 2016 Commencement at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 in the Lee. E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.<\/p>\n
Young, a Scott, Miss. native, was elected National Baptist Convention President in 2014 under the leadership of Julius R. Scruggs and made history as the first Mississippi pastor chosen for the position.<\/p>\n
For over 15 years, he has served under Dr. William J. Shaw, 16th President of the NBC, USA, Inc., and was appointed the 2nd Vice President over the Southwestern Region, where he served two terms. During Julius R. Scruggs\u2019s term as 17th President, Young served as Vice President-at-Large.<\/p>\n
Young has led the congregation of New Hope Baptist Church since 1980. He is the founder and headmaster of New Hope Christian Pre-School and New Hope Christian Elementary School, together serving over three hundred students, from infants to 6th grade.<\/p>\n
Young attained an Associate of Arts in Social Science from Coahoma Junior College in Clarksdale, Miss. He received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Social Welfare from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Young earned a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mark G. Henderson is the featured speaker for the Jackson State University Fall 2016 Undergraduate Commencement at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 in the Lee. E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center .<\/p>\n
Henderson, department chair for the Department of Speech and Theater at Jackson State is a native of Canton, Miss. After graduating from Canton High School, he attended Jackson State University and received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Speech Communication Studies and Dramatic Art.\u00a0 Henderson also received a Master of Arts in Communications and Urban Studies from Michigan State University.\u00a0 Henderson returned to Mississippi and enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Southern Mississippi where he received a doctorate degree in Speech Communication.<\/p>\n
Henderson is the Founder\/Artistic Director of MADDRAMA, a troupe of Jackson State University performers who tour nationally with an extensive repertoire of original plays and specialized performances that are highly requested.<\/p>\n
He balances his professional time between two areas in which he share in equal passion: Speech Communication and Theater.\u00a0 As a scholar in the area of Speech Communication, Henderson\u2019s interest area is Interpersonal Communication with an emphasis on Language and Culture. He conducts leadership workshops on Effective Communication in the Workplace, Interpersonal Relationship Building among College Students, and Voice & Diction.<\/p>\n
Henderson devotes much of his time directing and producing theater for MADDRAMA and the Department of Speech and Theatre at JSU. He was most recently commissioned by the Canton,\u00a0 MS Convention & Visitors Bureau & Film Office to direct the world premiere of the stage play \u201cThea\u2019s Turn\u201d, which chronicles the life and contribution of African-American educator and nun, Sister Thea Bowman.<\/p>\n
Henderson served as the 31st President of the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts. In 2010, Henderson was selected to be part of the inaugural edition of the Who\u2019s Who in Black Mississippi Directory. In 2013, he was selected as JSU Humanities Teacher of the Year, and was recently the Hometown Hero Award recipient by the Jackson Convention and Visitor\u2019s Bureau.<\/p>\n