Dr. William Sutton, a Dillard alumnus and president emeritus of Mississippi Valley State University, will be the featured speaker at the 2010 Annual Honors Convocation at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Lawless Assembly Hall.

Some 200 Dillard students will be at the convocation for having a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or above, according to Dr. Carla Morelon-Quainoo, director of Undergraduate Studies.

Sutton, who graduated from Dillard in 1953, is past president of the National Institute of Science. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at Howard University. He became president of Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Miss., in 1988 and served in that role for a decade.

Morelon-Quainoo said Sutton, a highly esteemed and accomplished academician, professional and philanthropist, came to Dillard on an academic scholarship in 1949 and was class president during his sophomore, junior and senior years. He also participated in drama and served as captain of the football team, she said.

Morelon-Quainoo noted that the decision was made to change the minimum for recognition back to 3.0 (after raising it to 3.2 last year) after it was discovered that most honor students have a GPA of between 3.0 and 3.199.