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USM Regent to Speak at Bowie State University Commencement
Frank M. Reid to Address 2011 Graduates

(Bowie, Md.)- Bowie State University will host Rev. Dr. Frank M. Reid, III, who currently serves on the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents, as keynote speaker at the 2011 spring commencement ceremony in May. This year commemorates Bowie State University's 146^th anniversary as Maryland's oldest Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and one of the oldest in the nation.

The Bowie State University community will celebrate together Friday, May 20 at 10 a.m. at Bulldog Stadium, as graduates receive degrees in more than 40 academic programs administered by the University's Colleges of Education, Business, Professional Studies and Arts and Sciences.  Last spring, more than 600 graduates walked across the stage to receive their hard-earned degrees.

"I am deeply honored to be the guest speaker for Bowie State's Spring Commencement," said Dr. Reid. "Bowie State has equipped each graduate to achieve greatness and success and now they are going into a world that will try and minimize their opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.  It is my assignment to inform and inspire the graduates, their families and the Bowie State family to create opportunities and maximize this defining moment in history."

Dr. Reid was appointed to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents by Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2008. A resident of Baltimore County, he has served as senior pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Baltimore City for more than 20 years.

"Dr. Reid and I have worked together as colleagues through the University System of Maryland for the past several years," said Bowie State University President Mickey L. Burnim, Ph.D. "He is a dynamic, inspirational person and speaker who has the ability to connect with our graduates and their families on a number of levels. We are pleased to have a member of the Board of Regents as our keynote speaker this year, and we look forward to hearing his message to the 2011 graduates."

A highly regarded speaker, author, and teacher, Dr. Reid is a graduate of Harvard and Yale universities and received his doctorate in ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. His ministry has taken him to South Korea, Liberia and England, and he previously served AME congregations in Charlotte, NC and Los Angeles prior to coming to Baltimore. Under Dr. Reid's leadership, Bethel AME Church has grown in membership and became the first AME church to have a weekly international television broadcast.

Dr. Reid is a servant leader whose ministry of over 30 years has been on the cutting edge of positive change. As an intellectual leader, he has consistently brought the top authors and thinkers into the communities that he has served: Taylor Branch, Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Terri McMillan, BeBe Moore Campbell are just a few of the authors who have spoken at the churches he has pastored. As a community leader, Dr. Reid has had Bishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Marian Wright Edelman, Dick Gregory, Johnetta Cole, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Mayor Martin O'Malley, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Imam Wallace Dean Muhammad to speak at or visit the churches he has pastored. Also, the mayor and two deputy mayors of Baltimore City, the Comptroller of Baltimore City, and a Maryland State Delegate are members of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

As a best-selling author who has written important books and articles, Dr. Reid is a much sought out author, teacher, preacher, and motivational speaker. Dr. Reid is married to Marlaà Hall Reid, a talented woman in her own right; they have been married for over 28 years. They have two daughters, FranShon and Faith, and one son, Shane.

For more information on Bowie State University's 2011 spring commencement, click here.

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