HU WELCOMES SECRETARY OF HUD FOR COMMENCEMENT

Hampton, VA - Hampton University welcomes the Honorable Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the 2005 Commencement Exercises on May 8.

Commencement will be held at Armstrong Stadium at 10 a.m. The Convocation Center and Holland Hall will serve as the rain sites.

Jackson is guiding HUD in its mission of providing affordable housing and promoting economic development, an assignment to which he brings more than 25 years of direct experience in both the private and public sectors.

Jackson first joined the Bush Administration in June of 2001 as HUD's Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer. As Deputy Secretary, Jackson managed the day-to-day operations of the $32 billion agency and instilled a new commitment to ethics and accountability within HUD's programs and among its workforce and grant partners.

The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Jackson as the nation's 13th Secretary of HUD on March 31, 2004. Immediately preceding his appointment at HUD, Jackson served as President of American Electric Power-TEXAS, a $13 billion utility company located in Austin, Texas.

From January 1989 until July 1996, Secretary Jackson was President and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas, Texas, which consistently ranked as one of the best-managed large-city housing agencies in the country during his tenure. Prior to that, Secretary Jackson was Director of the Department of Public and Assisted Housing in Washington, D.C., and also served as Chairperson for the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency Board.

Jackson holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in education administration from Truman State University. He received his law degree from Washington University School of Law.