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First Lady Jill Biden will deliver the keynote address at Los Angeles City College’s commencement ceremony on June 7, officials announced Tuesday.
“We are just overjoyed and extremely honored that the first lady of the United States will be joining us this year. We love her,” LACC President Mary Gallagher said. “Dr. Biden has been our champion for years and to have her here for our first in-person commencement in three years is amazing. This will be one of the most important and memorable commencements in the 93-year history of our college.”
Biden is a long-time advocate for higher education, particularly community colleges. She is a professor in the English department at Northern Virginia Community College, making her the first presidential spouse to work full-time outside the White House.
She also appeared at LACC in 2016, when her husband was vice president, to announce the launch of the Los Angeles College Promise Program offering free tuition for all new, full-time students in the Los Angeles Community College District.
The commencement will begin at 5 p.m. at the Greek Theater at 2700 N. Vermont Ave. It will be streamed live on LACC’s website. More than 1,000 students are expected to participate.
Members of the LACC classes of 2020 and 2021 have been invited to participate as well. In-person graduation ceremonies for those classes were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the graduates had virtual ceremonies, the college decided to offer those students the opportunity to appear in person with the first lady.