Press Release

Three Atlanta Legends to Speak at Commencement

ATLANTA – Mayor Shirley Franklin, television anchor Monica Pearson and real estate developer Tom Cousins require no introduction. The three Atlanta icons will be speaking at Oglethorpe University’s commencement ceremony on May 12 from 9:00 until 11:00 a.m. in the academic quadrangle.

Franklin, Pearson and Cousins will each also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Atlanta’s premier liberal arts university. Previous recipients at Oglethorpe commencements have included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Ivan E. Allen, Sr., T. Woodrow Wilson and more recently John Brooks Fuqua, Andrew Young, Anne Rivers Siddons, Billy Payne, Yoel Levi, Zell Miller, S. Truett Cathy, Max Cleland and Jack Guynn.

Serving in the public arena for most of her career, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has brought sweeping reforms to Atlanta’s city government since taking office as the 58th mayor of the City of Atlanta in January 2002. She has received numerous national awards including the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Mayor Franklin became the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major southern city. She earned her Bachelor degree from Howard University and her Masters from the University of Pennsylvania.

WSB-TV (ABC affiliate), Channel 2 news anchor Monica Kaufman Pearson holds the record in this position as the first woman, the first African American and the longest tenure of most women in this industry. Pearson joined WSB-TV in 1975. She is a member of various professional organizations and has won numerous local, regional and national awards including 23 Emmy Awards. Pearson earned her Bachelor degree from the University of Louisville.

A leading real estate developer for nearly 50 years, Thomas Cousins of Cousins Properties has changed the face of Atlanta and the Southeast. Cousins Properties developed Atlanta landmarks like the CNN Center, The Omni Coliseum and donated the land for the Georgia World Congress Center. Current projects include office buildings and shopping centers in Atlanta, as well as Alabama, California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Cousins has served on countless business, civic and education boards. He earned his Bachelor degree from the University of Georgia and served in the United States Air Force.