Capt. Donnie Cochran
On Friday, May
6, the 200th commencement ceremony of Savannah State University will be held at
T. A. Wright Stadium located on the university’s campus. The ceremony will
begin at 10 a.m. and will also be live-streamed. More than 365 students will
receive master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees.
Esteemed alumnus, Capt. Donnie Cochran, U.S. Navy, retired, will serve
as the commencement speaker. Cochran,
a 1976 graduate of Savannah State University, earned a bachelor’s degree in
civil engineering technology and is the first African-American aviator to be
selected to the United States Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron.
He is also a graduate of the Air War College in Montgomery, Ala. and earned a
master’s degree in human resource management from Troy State University.
In 1994, Cochran was named as the first African-American commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels. He retired from the U.S. Navy with over 24 years of aviation experience. During his final assignment, he served as the Deputy Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, second in command of over 7,000 people at over 1,500 locations around the nation and abroad.
Cochran’s extraordinary career includes significant contributions to aviation in the civilian aviation industry. He was a flight training supervisor for United Parcel Services (UPS) and spent a decade at The Coca-Cola Company as a manager of aviation programs. Cochran served as the Commanding Officer of the NROTC Unit at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and as a Professor of Naval Science at both FAMU and Florida State University. He is a 2022 inductee into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
Savannah State University dedicated a memorial on the university's campus in
honor of Cochran. It contains an A4 aircraft on loan from the National Museum
of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Fla., painted in the Blue Angels traditional
colors.
Students and guests may choose to wear masks during the graduation ceremony
based on preference and assessment of personal risk. More information about graduation
exercises is available online by visiting savannahstate.edu/commencement.