Graduation Ceremony, Class of 2019

Lt. Governor of New Jersey Sheila Oliver will deliver the keynote address. An alumna of the Columbia School of Social Work (class of 1976), Lt. Governor Oliver was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2003. In 2010, she became the first African American woman speaker in state history, and in 2018 she became the first woman of color to serve in state-wide elected office in New Jersey. In addition to her role as Lt. Governor, Oliver serves as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. Lt. Governor Oliver received a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania before coming to the Columbia School of Social Work to earn her master’s.