lorman &8212; The Alcorn State University class of 2006 heard words of praise and encouragement on their graduation day Saturday at Jack Spinks Stadium on the Lorman campus.

And as reinforcement to a challenge to students made by ASU President Clinton Bristow, the university presented its first honorary degree to Earl G. Graves, one of the most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America and an activist for higher education.

&8220;Earl Graves has exemplified the ideals of Alcorn State University from the time since he served as an assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy working to eradicate poverty,&8221; Bristow said.

&8220;National and world leaders have praised him for his contributions to historically black universities. He is an appropriate role model for Alcorn.&8221;

Graves is chairman and CEO of his own company, which publishes Black Enterprise magazine. He also serves as a director on numerous corporate boards and as a volunteer on the boards of TransAfrica Inc. and the American Museum of Natural History and Planetarium.

Commencement speaker for the 135th graduation was Percy W. Watson, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the Mississippi Legislature. He began by telling students about the trials of getting legislation passed to build a new cafeteria at Alcorn.

&8220;You needed a cafeteria,&8221; he said. However, funding the new building became bogged down in the controversy over whether there would be general obligation bonds that year.

Watson was responsible for following the bill to fruition.

&8220;Two years later, we were able to fund $2 million for the equipment and furnishings without much controversy,&8221; Watson said.

&8220;We&8217;ve been involved in some very competitive political struggles on behalf of Alcorn State University,&8221; he said.

Watson, a Hattiesburg native and an attorney, said he looks forward to reporting to the legislative leadership &8220;the great things going on at Alcorn.&8221;

Like Bristow, he had words of encouragement for the graduates.

&8220;Your education does not end here this morning,&8221; he said. &8220;It&8217;s important that you continue your education even if you don&8217;t go to graduate school or you never see the inside of an institution of higher learning again.&8221;

He also urged students to be prepared for the future but to &8220;live your life one day at a time. And be prepared to compromise.&8221;

Quoting a CEO of a large company, whom he did not name, he told graduates, &8220;The quality of one&8217;s compromises is more important than the correctness of one&8217;s positions.&8221;

Watson told graduates not to leave the university focused only on making money but also on &8220;making this world a better place to live. Remember, you owe the world. The world owes you nothing.&8221;

Finally, &8220;explore, dream and discover,&8221; he said, ending an exhortation from an unknown author.

Bristow acknowledged Mother&8217;s Day and told graduates to give their first paycheck to their mothers.

&8220;Give your second paycheck to your father. And I guess you can keep the third paycheck, but send half of it to Alcorn State University,&8221; he said.