The Alice Ball "Black Grad" Ceremony is named in celebration of Alice Ball, the first African American woman to earn a master's degree from the University of Hawaiʻi in 1915. Ball developed an injectable form of the active agents in chaulmoogra oil, which was used for 20 years to treat Hansen's disease. In 2007, Ball was posthumously awarded the University of Hawaiʻi Regents Medal to Distinction. In addition, a bronze plaque in her honor is mounted at the base of a chaulmoogra tree near Bachman Hall on our campus. Given Ball's untimely death due to her illness, her accomplishments were hidden for over eight decades. Renaming the Black graduation ceremony in her honor furthers her legacy while connecting students to one of our most distinguished Black alumna.
During the ceremony, all graduates will receive an authentic Kente cloth stole crafted by House of Stole, an African goods store located in Ghana. These stoles are a gift made possible by the continued support of the Office of Student Excellence, Equity, and Diversity.
Event Details
Date/Time: Friday, December 15, 2023 from 10:00am - 1:00pm
Location: Queen Liliʻuokalani Center (QLC) Room 411/412
RSVP for this yearʻs ceremony!
If you have guests, please ask them to complete the Guest RSVP.