Former Governor David Beasley to speak at Converse University

David Beasley, distinguished leader, humanitarian, and former Governor of South Carolina (1995-1999), will serve as the Undergraduate Commencement speaker at Converse University on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

“We are honored to have Former Governor Beasley as our Commencement speaker,” said Converse President Dr. Boone J. Hopkins. “His leadership and his passion for humanitarian work will inspire our graduates.”

Beasley recently served as the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programe (WFP) from 2017 to April 2023.

Under Beasley’s leadership, WFP became the world’s largest humanitarian organization, assisting more than 160 million people in 2022 alone and raising more than $55 billion to combat global hunger. In 2020, Beasley accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP for its efforts to provide food assistance in conflict areas and prevent food from being used as a weapon of war.

During his acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2021, he remarked, “We have learned that there is great richness in those who are seen, in the eyes of the world, as ‘the poor.’ And many of us who are considered ‘rich’ are actually poor in the things that matter most.”

Beasley has also been recognized for his courageous leadership beyond humanitarian work, receiving the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for taking a stand on the Confederate Flag issue in South Carolina.

He majored in Microbiology at Clemson University and received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of South Carolina. Beasley was also a Fellow and lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is now a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School.

He is married to Mary Wood Payne, a 1984 Converse alumna, and they have four children and five grandchildren. Today, Beasley remains an influential advocate for global food security, humanitarian action, and international cooperation.

Converse University’s 2026 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Twichell Auditorium at the Zimmerli Performance Center on Converse’s main campus in Spartanburg. In-person attendance is limited to Converse graduates and their families with tickets, but the ceremony will be live-streamed on the Converse YouTube channel. Details can be found on the Converse Commencement webpage.

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