Tavis Smiley talks at SPEA atrium dedication

Guests, faculty and students filled the atrium of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs today at 1 p.m. to hear IU alumnus Tavis Smiley speak at the renaming and dedication ceremony. The space will be named the Tavis Smiley Atrium.

Smiley talked about the hardship he encountered while entering college and acknowledged the people who help him along the way.

“I know nothing about the collegiate experience, but that I had to have it,” Smiley said.

Smiley donated $50,000 to SPEA to establish the Tavis Smiley Scholarship program for groups of students that are underrepresented in institutions of higher education. The school will match the contribution.

Smiley will appear tomorrow on the campus of IU-Purdue University Indianapolis for a breakfast during the 19th reunion of the IU Neal-Marshall Alumni Club to discuss the state of the black alumni in America.