MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga.,
May 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Honorable Lisa D. Cook, Ph.D., returned to her roots and hometown
in Milledgeville May 4 to give two keynote addresses at
Georgia College & State
University commencement ceremonies.
Governor Cook is the first Black woman and fourth native-born
Georgian to serve on the Federal Reserve Board in its 111-year
history.
"Dr. Cook has throughout her career consistently demonstrated a
commitment to mentoring and advocating for underrepresented groups
in the field of economics," said Georgia
College President Cathy Cox,
when introducing Cook at commencements for the university's College
of Business & Technology and College of Arts &
Sciences.
Cox presented Cook with an honorary degree from Georgia College.
Cook's mother, the late Mary
Cook, was the first Black tenured faculty member in
Georgia College's School of Nursing,
where she taught 17 years. Her father, the late Rev. Payton Cook, was a chaplain of Central State
Hospital in Milledgeville, where a
building now bears his name. Her father led numerous Baldwin County community organizations and
served on the university's Foundation Board.
Cook's two sisters also have ties to Georgia College. One served as director of Minority
Affairs and the other as a Foundation Board trustee.
The sisters grew up visiting their mother on campus. They
attended the Peabody Laboratory School as pupils for student
teachers in the university's College of Education. Their
babysitters were Georgia College
students, and their Baldwin County
teachers were trained at Georgia
College. The family also hosted dinners for international
students.
"My feelings about GCSU begin with immense gratitude," Cook
said. "It was rare in the early 1960s for colleges to hire, let
alone tenure, an African-American woman or man, particularly in
rural Georgia."
"For me personally, from an early age, GCSU, and the world it
opened to me, was evidence that I could do anything in life and be
anyone I dreamed of being, regardless of where I was raised or my
race and gender," she said.
Cook congratulated the Class of 2024, urging them to find hope
and meaning in her personal story. She said Georgia College prepared them well, and they are
limited only by their "motivation, preparation and
imagination."
"… whoever you are, wherever you come from, and whatever anyone
has said about you and your capabilities," Cook said, "you can be
anything and anyone you want to be."
For more information, please see Front Page. For
interviews call 478-508-2599
or email cindy.odonnell@gcsu.edu.
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SOURCE Georgia College & State
University