Award-winning actress Angela Bassett has been named one of the guest speakers at ODU’s Commencement ceremony this spring.
Bassett won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the 1993 film “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” for which she was also nominated for an Oscar, and has six Emmy nominations. She has starred in hit films like “Black Panther,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Malcolm X,” “Waiting to Exhale,” and more.
Bassett will speak with College of Arts and Letters undergraduates at 2 p.m. on May 6.
Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, are the principals of their production company, Bassett Vance Productions, which has a partnership with ViacomCBS MTV Entertainment Group’s development program for Black, Indigenous and people of color and women filmmakers. She holds a B.A. in African American Studies and an M.F.A in drama from Yale University.
Other speakers include:
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Sachin Shetty, executive director of the Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems at ODU’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC), will speak at the advanced degree ceremony at 6:30 p.m. May 6.
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ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., will offer congratulatory remarks at the Strome College of Business and Darden College of Education and Professional Studies undergraduate ceremony at 9 a.m. May 7.
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Howard P. Kern, president and chief executive officer of Sentara Healthcare, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony for the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Health Sciences, the College of Sciences and the School of Cybersecurity at 2 p.m. May 7.
Bassett will speak at the ceremony for College of Arts and Letters undergraduates at 2 p.m. May 6.
— Old Dominion University (@ODU) April 18, 2022
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