Prominent music industry executive Kevin Liles, founder and CEO of KWL Management, partner in 300 Entertainment and founder of RSM Sports Management Group, will speak at Jackson State University’s fall undergraduate commencement.
The university will recognize 382 undergraduate degree candidates and 160 summer graduates during the ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, in the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.
Millard Juette Bingham, Ph.D, commencement committee co-chair and interim associate dean of JSU’s College of Education and Human Development, said, “The commencement committee is so very excited to have Mr. Kevin Liles as our fall 2015 undergraduate commencement speaker. His laudable accomplishment of moving up from an unpaid internship in 1991 to CEO and President of Def Jam Records will certainly be inspirational to our graduates. In addition, we are excited to have a record number of graduates this fall.”
Liles has advised some of the world’s most talented entertainers and athletes, including entertainers Trey Songz, D’Angelo, Ty$, Estelle, four-time Olympic gold-medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, NASCAR sensation Darrell Wallace Jr. and NFL players Melvin Gordon of the San Diego Chargers, Jarvis Landry of the Miami Dolphins and Ty Montgomery of the Green Bay Packers.
After rising to CEO and President of Def Jam Records, Liles joined Warner Music Group as executive vice president in 2004 and served on the executive team that took Warner from private to public in 2011. A modern-day Renaissance man, he attended Morgan State University on an electrical engineering scholarship and quickly made his mark in diverse arenas. His successes outside of the music and sports realm include producing the Tony Award-winning play The Trip To Bountiful, starring Cicely Tyson.
His philanthropic commitments include advising and serving on the boards of New Yorkers For Children, Seed School of Maryland, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, Harbor Bank, the McDonogh School and the Executive Leadership Council. He is the best-selling author of Make It Happen: the Hip Hop Generation’s Guide to Success. He also oversees Kevin Liles for a Better Baltimore, which invests in the Baltimore community, and the Make It Happen Foundation, which empowers African-American youth to succeed in entrepreneurship and innovation. He is married to Erika Liles and has four children.
Bingham said, “The commencement committee has been working very hard to ensure a commencement program that is worthy of our students’ achievements. We wish the entire class of 2015 our heartfelt congratulations. We ask that they not see this as an ending but a beginning of their journey along the path of lifelong learning. We know they will make our university proud as they go forth and change the world in a very positive way.”
Wendy B. Scott, the first African-American to serve as dean of the Mississippi College School of Law, will deliver the keynote address at Jackson State University’s fall graduate commencement. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, in the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.
For more information,visit commencement.