(December 1, 2017 – Virginia State University, Va.) – Virginia State University’s Winter Commencement is scheduled for Saturday, December 9 at 9 a.m. in the VSU Multipurpose Center. The commencement speaker is Ms. Roslyn M. Brock, who is the Chairman Emeritus of the National Board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP” or “Association”).
Brock made history in February 2010 when she was unanimously elected as the 14th Chairman of the NAACP. She is the youngest person and fourth woman to hold this position.
Brock is employed as vice president, Advocacy and Government Relations for Bon Secours Health System, Inc., where she is the lead policy advocate on health care policy and reform, population health, health equity and social justice legislative. Prior to working at Bon Secours, Brock worked 10 years in health programs at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich.
Brock graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Union University. She later earned a master’s degree in health services administration from George Washington University, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. In May 2010, Brock received an honorary doctorate degree from Virginia Union University. In May 2016, she received honorary doctorate degrees from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. An ordained Baptist preacher, she serves as associate Minister at the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.
She has been a servant leader with the NAACP for more than 30 years and is a Diamond Life Member. She joined the Association as a freshman at Virginia Union University where she was elected President of the Youth and College Division from the Commonwealth of Virginia. One year later, she was elected as a Youth Board Member from Region 7 representing the District of Columbia, Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia. For nine years (2001-2010), Brock served as Vice Chairman of the NAACP National Board and Chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee for eleven years (1999-2010).
In 2005, Brock created the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit. The Summit’s goal is to recruit, train and retain a new generation of civil rights leaders to the NAACP. Since its inception, Leadership 500 has contributed more than $1.7 million to the NAACP to support its civil rights programs. In 2012, she initiated and led the Board’s historic policy decision to support marriage equality and to implement The Black Church and HIV: The Social Justice Imperative.
Brock is a member of the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University; Kellogg School of Management Global Advisory Board at Northwestern University; American Public Health Association, American College of Healthcare Executives, Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The LINKS, Incorporated. In addition, she is the former Chair of the Board of Advisors Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, and a former Trustee of the Catholic Health Association of the United States of America.
From 2003-2005, Brock was a Young Leaders Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations to build cross-cultural understanding and professional networks with young Chinese leaders.
Her leadership skills have been recognized by several national publications and organizations. The September 2010 issue of Essence magazine listed her among the “40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who Are Changing the World.” Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) 2010 “Black Girls Rock,” honored her in its inaugural broadcast and she received the 2010 National Urban League’s Women of Power Award.
Brock’s goal in life is embodied in an African proverb, “Care more than others think is wise, Risk more than others think is safe, Dream more than others think is practical, and Expect more than others think is possible.” Her trademark mantra is “Courage Will Not Skip This Generation!”
