Maurice Jones to be keynote speaker at TCC graduation on Dec. 18

Maurice Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, will be the keynote speaker for Tidewater Community College’s 59th commencement on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. at Old Dominion University’s Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Maurice Jones with President Kolovani More than 2,200 TCC students will receive their associate degrees or certificates that evening.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Jones to his current position in January 2014. Previously Jones served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to HUD, Jones was president of Pilot Media, the largest print and digital organization in Hampton Roads. Jones was also president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, the locally owned and managed newspaper.

In 2012, TCC presented Jones with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Distinguished Service Award.

Jones earned his bachelor’s in political science from Hampden-Sydney College and attended Oxford University in England on a Rhodes scholarship, where he received a master’s in International Relations. He later received a juris doctor from the University of Virginia.

Student speaker Katrina Crowe of Norfolk will graduate with an Associate of Science in Social Science and is already working toward a bachelor’s in human services at Old Dominion University.