Due to medical issues with one of the prior scheduled speakers, the Great Issues Committee’s last speaker of the year has changed. L. Douglas Wilder, the first African-American to be elected as a United States governor, is now scheduled to speak on April 12 at 7 p.m. in the Busch Student Center Wool Ballrooms.

“He was available and we made our commitment to diversity and dialogue; he is someone who can continue that dialogue,” Great Issues Committee Chair Steve Della Camera said.

The former football coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast were the original speakers scheduled for April 12. Boone recently suffered an injury that resulted in several broken bones, and was unable to travel for the speech.

“We didn’t want to break up the two by having Yoast speak alone, so we decided to bring in Wilder,” Della Camera said.

In 1990, Wilder was sworn in as the 66th governor of Virginia, a state once known for its confederate status.

“Wilder has a very unique story,” Della Camera said. “Becoming governor, he overcame a lot of challenges, and I think students can learn from his experiences.”

This will be GIC’s last event of the year and Della Camera’s last event as chair.

“It has been an amazing last couple of years, and I think we have really brought in some awesome speakers,” Della Camera said. “I think this last event will complement the work that we have done.”
Additional reporting by Kelley Dunn.