Peabody Dean Fred Bronstein has sent the following email about next week’s Commencement speaker to the Peabody campus community this afternoon:
Dear Peabody students, faculty, and staff,
It is with deep regret that I write to inform you that Jessye Norman will not be able to join us for Commencement next week due to personal, unforeseen circumstances. As planned, we will award the Peabody Medal to Ms. Norman in absentia and hope to welcome her to campus at some future date.
At the same time, I am very pleased to announce that Congressman Elijah Cummings will speak at Peabody’s Commencement. Congressman Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th District, which includes Peabody’s Mount Vernon neighborhood, in the U.S. House of Representatives and has dedicated his life of service to uplifting and empowering the people he is sworn to represent. Congressman Cummings’s voice has been an inspiration to others throughout his career and was especially so during a challenging time here in Baltimore this spring.
Elijah Cummings is committed to education issues and serves on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the Morgan State University Board of Regents, the University of Maryland Law School Board of Regents, and as an honorary Board Member of the Baltimore School for the Arts. He will be receiving an honorary degree from Johns Hopkins University on Thursday morning.
I know you will all join me in welcoming Congressman Cummings to the Peabody Campus.
Fred Bronstein
Dean
