Civil Rights leader Young to speak at Flagler commencement ceremony

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Andrew Young speaks during the Ideas and Images series held at the Lewis Auditorium of Flagler College on Thursday, September 19, 2013 in St. Augustine, FL. Photo by Perry Knotts.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (04/29/2014)(readMedia)-- Flagler College will hold its spring commencement ceremony Saturday, May 3, for graduating seniors. Approximately 360 students will receive diplomas at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre.

The commencement speaker will be Ambassador Andrew Young.

Young, a United States Ambassador to the United Nations, worked under the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and had been highly involved in civil rights protests in St. Augustine. He has also served as a Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district and Mayor of Atlanta.

Flagler's relationship with Ambassador Young began in 2010 when he selected Flagler College as the setting for the first presentation of his documentary film, "Crossing in St. Augustine." Ambassador Young later donated the archival footage for the film to the College, establishing the Civil Rights Library of St. Augustine, an Internet-based multimedia archive documenting the St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement.

The Flagler College Public Administration program will graduate 21 seniors in a second ceremony at 4 p.m. in the Flagler College Auditorium.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.