Rep. G.K. Butterfield (B.A. 1972, J.D. 1974), the commencement speaker
A Record-Setting Fall Commencement
By Paul V. Brown Jr.
U.S.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield sent out a record number of Fall Commencement graduates with a rousing address about faithfulness and faith in God.
The university awarded about 600 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees on Dec. 11, the most ever for a fall commencement. The old record, set in December 2009, was 467. It was North Carolina Central University’s 116th commencement. Butterfield, a Democrat, represents North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in the northeastern part of the state. He entered NCCU in 1965 as a member of the class of 1969, but left for military service before graduating. He returned in 1971 to complete his undergraduate degree and start law school, earning his B.A. in 1972 and his law degree two years later. A former judge in state superior court and court of appeals, Butterfield won
reelection in November 2010 to a fourth term in Congress. In his address, he urged the NCCU graduates to be faithful to humanity, themselves, their families and their alma mater. “You must understand that there are six billion people in the world. One-half of them live on less than $2 per day.” Butterfield said. “Thirty thousand children in the world under the age of 5 die each day from malnutrition and disease. In this country, 36 million people live in poverty. One out of five children lives in poverty. You cannot ignore humanity, and as you leave this place, you cannot ignore the world.” Butterfield told a packed crowd in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium that he arrived as a freshman in 1965, days after the Voting Rights Act had passed Congress and just a year after the Civil Rights Act had passed. NCCU NOW
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