Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will be the keynote speaker at the Spring 2019 Commencement on May 11, 2019. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

“We are honored that Gov. John Bel Edwards has agreed to be our commencement speaker for our May ceremony,” said Dr. Nick Bruno in a press release from ULM.

“We make every effort to have a distinguished speaker at each of our commencement ceremonies to share their individual perspectives and knowledge to our graduates as they begin their professional careers. Gov. Edwards has been a champion for all of education,” Bruno said.

Edwards was  the seventh of eight children to sheriff Frank Jr. and Dora Jean Edwards, a Charity Hospital nurse. He grew up in Tangipahoa Parish.

He was sworn in as the 56th governor of Louisiana on Jan. 11, 2016.

Edwards was elected by the people of House District 72 to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2008 and served eight years. He was then elected as governor of Louisiana in November 2015.