Honors Convocation this Thursday

Florida A&M will host its annual honors convocation Thursday at 10:10 a.m. in Lee Hall Auditorium. Virgil Miller, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.), will serve as the keynote speaker. Miller is a native of West Palm Beach and a FAMU alumnus, where he received his BS in biology and a master’s of public health. He began his political career as a Student Government Association president at FAMU and interned for then-Rep. Richardson (D-Fla.).In January 2011 Miller was selected by Richmond after working with Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Miller played a key role in securing passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, as health policy advisor for Dingell, which granted the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. He also helped pass the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which improved safety regulations for both domestic and foreign food suppliers. Several congressional leaders and public health organizations have recognized Miller’s legislative and advocacy work on healthcare reform, Medicare/Medicaid policy, medical product safety and health disparity issues. Miller has also worked as a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Louis Stokes fellow in the office of U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY). “I am extremely excited to hear Mr. Miller speak,” said Donovan Stewart, a third-year political science student from West Palm Beach. “I have followed his work for a while and he embodies my definition of black excellence; not to mention he is from my hometown, which also makes me proud.”When Miller is not busy on Capitol Hill, he devotes his time to fundraising for breast cancer research and prevention through the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Miller works with the youth through groups like World Vision and the Young Alumni Group (YAG), a networking organization that he helped start for the next generation of FAMU leaders.