TUCSON, Ariz. - Engineer and physician Mae C. Jemison, the first woman of color to travel into space, will address graduates at the University of Arizona commencement ceremony May 10.
Jemison traveled to space via the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
"I am so thrilled that Dr. Jemison will be sharing her wisdom with our graduates this year," said UA President Robert Robbins said in a statement. "She is a true inspiration; her career, entrepreneurship and innovative spirit makes her an amazing person to help celebrate our Class of 2019. I am looking forward to her speech, and I am honored that she is joining us for such an important evening in our students' lives."
The ceremony will be the UA's 155th commencement.
Jemison, who has degrees from Stanford and Cornell, leads 100 Year Starship, a nonprofit geared to create the capability for humans to travel beyond the solar system within the next 100 years.
"Today we have more material wealth than at any other point in human history," Jemison said in a statement. "We have more capacity, more capability to include everyone in the bounty of this planet. The most important task of the university is to prepare their graduates to recognize these opportunities and act positively upon them."
