Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to give 2018 commencement address

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will give the main commencement address during the 2018 commencement weekend, according to the University of Richmond's commencement webpage.

McAuliffe served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 and was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005. He also co-chaired Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996 and was chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

During his time in office, McAuliffe made news by restoring voting rights to more than 156,221 convicted felons who had completed their sentences or been released on parole or probation.

McAuliffe also focused on job creation. The unemployment rate in Virginia was at its lowest in years when McAuliffe left office.

Ting Xu, an entrepreneur and member of the Robins School of Business Executive Advisory Council, will give the commencement address at the MBA ceremony.

Xu is the CEO of Plow & Hearth and the co-founder, chairwoman and former president of Evergreen Enterprises Inc., a home décor business.

An alumna of Old Dominion University, Xu began her career in 1993 by creating a business out of her garage making garden flags as a way to keep her retired parents busy. Xu’s family businesses now employ more than 1,000 people in the U.S. and abroad. They generated around $310 million last year.

The T.C. Williams School of Law’s commencement address will be given by Doris H. Causey, who was the first African-American president of the Virginia State Bar.

She served as president of the Virginia State Bar from 2017 to 2018 and currently works as the managing attorney at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.

Contact contributor Chloe Simpson at chloe.simpson@richmond.edu.