As Black History Month gets underway nationwide, the University will dedicate Lawn room West 43 today to A. Leroy "Roy" Willis, the first black student to graduate from the College.
The reception, which will be hosted by the Office of University Development, the Office of the President and the Office of African-American Affairs, will include a number of speakers and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with a few words by the 1962 graduate. Alumni, black student leaders and current Lawn residents will attend, though the event also is open to the general public, said Dion Lewis, assistant dean of Africa-American Affairs.
Willis graduated in 1962 with a chemistry degree and lived in West 43 during his time at the University. In his honor, the University has installed a plaque on the door of the Lawn room listing his name and achievements.
"I'm very happy that the University community would honor me in this way," Willis said.
After graduating from the University, Willis served in the U.S. Army as an officer and later went to Harvard Business School from 1967-69, graduating with a master of business administration. He since has spent the majority of his career developing communities, social justice and economic programs.
"I decided I wanted to be more involved in social justice and economic programs that would help develop African-American communities and African-American people," Willis said. "This developed into working with cities at large."
His dedication to these issues during and after his time at the University are part of the reason why he is being honored today, said Mark Smith, the University's senior director of gift planning.\n"We wanted to honor Mr. Willis this week because it is Black History Month," he said. "The plaque commemorates his being here and his accomplishments as a University alumnus."
Willis' legacy at the University does not end with his generation; Willis had a set of twins, both of whom were the first black College alumni whose parents also graduated from the University, Smith said.
"I was very proud to integrate the College and to open doors not only for African-Americans but also for women who entered 11 years later. I'm really proud when I walk through the University of Virginia today to see the diversity that has occurred," Willis said. "There were some social justice issues we needed to work on, but we fixed them in a constructive way."
The reception will be held at 2 p.m. at the Colonnade Club in Pavilion VII.
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