BISHOP, MPUNZWANA TO SPEAK AT ABAC GRADUATION DECEMBER 16

Congressman Sanford Bishop will be the guest speaker at Abraham Baldwin College’s graduation ceremony on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. in Gressette Gym. Pippa R. Mpunzwana, the reigning Ms. Abraham Baldwin 2004 and a member of this semester’s graduating class, will also be a featured speaker.

Bishop is serving his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia’s Second Congressional District. He was first elected to Congress in 1992 after serving in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1977 - 1990 and the Georgia Senate from 1991 - 92. Bishop serves on the House Appropriations Committee.

A native of Mobile, Ala., Bishop graduated from Morehouse College in 1968 and from Emory University Law School in 1971 with a Doctor of Law Degree. He serves as Chairman of a Democratic House task force on homeland security and the Working Group on Defense of Physical Infrastructure and Natural Resources. Bishop also serves as Co-Chairman of the Peanut Caucus, promoting sound policy for growers, agri-businesses, and consumers. He is a member of several caucuses, including Congressional Black Caucus, National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, Law Enforcement Caucus, National Security Caucus, Federal Government Service Caucus, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations, a privately-funded research and educational organization.

Bishop has held leadership positions at the community, state, and national levels, including serving as Georgia’s representative on the Southern Growth Policies Board and on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Drug Abuse.

A fashion merchandising major from Harare, Zimbabwe, Mpunzwana is the daughter of Philip and Chipo Mpunzwana.

At ABAC, she is the Student Union President and a member of the Family and Consumer Sciences Club (FACS), the Student Government Association (SGA), and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). Earlier this year, Mpunzwana was selected as Ms. Baldwin 2002-03 in a campus-wide vote. She is also a writing tutor in the Academic Assistance Center (AAC) and was a recipient of the GACS Scholarship and the SGA Senator Scholarship Award.

To add an historical touch to ABAC’s graduation ceremony, a 70-year-old diploma will be presented. The 1933 diploma of Jack Benjamin Pittman was discovered in the Registrar’s Office in Tift Hall while staff members were relocating to their new office in the Student Center. The diploma dates back to the time when ABAC was named Georgia State College for Men, probably the last graduation before the college’s name was changed to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1933. Dr. Carl S. Pittman, Jr. and Dr. William L. Bridges, nephews of Pittman, will accept the diploma on behalf of their late uncle.   

The George P. Donaldson Award for outstanding scholarship and leadership, the highest honor awarded to a graduating student from ABAC, will also be presented by the ABAC Alumni Association. Donaldson served as president of ABAC from 1947 - 61. The award includes a plaque and a check for $500, provided with funding from the ABAC Ag Alumni Council.           

Approximately 150 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony.

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