Apple executive to address nearly 600 Southern University graduates during Spring Commencement on May 17

Nearly 600 graduates will participate in Southern University and A&M College’s Spring 2024 Commencement on Friday, May 17 in the F.G. Clark Activity Center on campus. The diverse group of graduates will receive bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Cadets in the ROTC programs will also be recognized for their commissioning and U.S. military assignments.

 

Delivering the commencement address is Ronald “Ron” Chandler, lead for customer engagement for U.S. education business at Apple Inc.

 

Prior to Apple, Chandler was the chief information technology officer at the Harvard Business School. He held a similar role at the UCLA Anderson School. Before becoming a higher education CIO, he led technology for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the U.S.

Chandler serves on the board of directors for the Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts, where he chairs the innovation and technology committee. He is also on the advisory board for WGBH Boston, a public media organization.

 

As the former chairman of the K-12 National Advisory Council on Cybersecurity, Chandler spent time in Washington visiting with FCC commissioners, Department of Homeland Security senior leaders, and several members of Congress to advocate for increasing digital connectivity and cybersecurity resources in education across the U.S.

 

Many technology companies have been advised by Chandler. These include Intel Education, Clever, iboss Cybersecurity and HeliosEd.com. He was also a mentor at the prestigious GSVlabs in Silicon Valley. He is often found delivering talks at industry events on technology leadership, digital transformation and improving cybersecurity hygiene within organizations.

 

Chandler, who is based in San Jose, California, is a member of the Wall Street Journal CIO Network and has been recognized as one of the “Big Ten Most Influential People” in Technology and Learning magazine.

 

Chandler received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Southern University and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

 

Commencement is free and open to the public. No tickets are needed. Seating begins at 9 a.m. and free public parking is available outside the venue. For more information on commencement, including prohibited items, go to subr.edu/sucommencement. The ceremony will be streamed live on the homepage of subr.edu.