Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph will address Rutgers University graduates at commencement
Ralph, wife of Pa. state Sen. Vincent Hughes will address graduates on Rutgers main campus in New Brunswick on May 14.
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Sheryl Lee Ralph, who stars as the unflappable veteran teacher in the hit comedy Abbott Elementary, will be the commencement speaker for Rutgers University main campus in New Brunswick on May 14.
Ralph, who plays fictional Philadelphia public school teacher Barbara Howard on Abbott, was among the first class of undergraduate women at then-Rutgers College in 1972, the university said. The Emmy award winner and Broadway star graduated in 1975 at age 19, near the top of her class, with a degree in English literature and theater arts. Along the way, she earned the lead in a campus play, the school said.
Her selection was announced at Rutgers’ board of governors meeting Thursday.
» READ MORE: ‘Abbott Elementary’s’ Quinta Brunson will speak at Penn education school’s commencement
“As we celebrate the birthday of Paul Robeson, great actor, great artist, outstanding athlete, outstanding student, I’m so happy to represent his legacy as one of the first women, especially one of the first Black women, to graduate from Rutgers College,” Ralph said in a statement. “Legacy matters.”
She’s not the only Abbott Elementary star on the graduation speaker circuit. Last month, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education announced that Quinta Brunson, star and creator of the show and a Philadelphia native, would be its graduation speaker.
The career of Ralph, the wife of Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent Hughes, spans decades stretching back to her performance as Deena Jones in the 1982 Broadway hit Dreamgirls, for which she was nominated for a Tony award. She won a 2022 Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her Abbott Elementary role. Her character, she has said, is based in part on her mother-in-law, Ann Hughes, who had been a longtime Philadelphia school system secretary.
In 2002, Ralph was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Dana Redd, former mayor of Camden and a 1996 graduate of the Rutgers School of Business-Camden, will be the commencement speaker at Rutgers-Camden on May 15.