Sen. Clinton to speak at Wilberforce commencement

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will speak at Wilberforce University's May 5 graduation ceremony, the Rev. Dr. Floyd H. Flake, university president, said this week.

Commencement begins at 2 p.m. at nearby Wright State University's Nutter Center.

"Senator Hillary Clinton brings to our commencement ceremony dignity, hope, stature and a heightened sense of history," said Flake, a Democratic congressman from Queens, N.Y., from 1987 to 1997. "She is the finest possible choice for the honor of sending off our next generation of leaders. . .Rest assured her time with us and our time with her will prove to be invaluable."

Last June, then-Secretary of State Ken Blackwell named Flake as campaign co-chairman of his gubernatorial campaign, as reported here.

In addition to Sen. Clinton, a Democrat from New York, Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of the 30,000-member Potter's House Church in Dallas, Texas, will deliver the university's Baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 a.m.

Flake said the visit by Clinton and Jakes "will make this the most historic commencement in the history of the university, and quite possibly the nation."

Wilberforce is a historically black university founded in 1856 and located about 15 miles east of Dayton. Its 2006 fall enrollment was 875.

The following Saturday, May 12, in Columbus, Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the Ohio Democratic Party's annual fund-raising dinner at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.

Clinton is the first presidential candidate to commit to speaking at the $150-a-head fund-raiser, although an invitation has been extended to others, said state party spokesman Randy Borntrager.

Last June, two other presidential candidates, U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, spoke at the Ohio Democratic Party's annual dinner in downtown Columbus.