The Associated Press filed the following news story concerning the University of Alabama's graduation ceremonies May 17, 1997.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala., May 18, 1997 -- James Hood, who integrated the University of Alabama in 1963 but left when he was unable to bear the constant spotlight, has received his doctorate degree from the Capstone.

Tears flowed down Hood's cheeks Saturday as he accepted his Ph.D. in higher education administration to a standing ovation from the crowd at Coleman Coliseum. President Andrew Sorenson, Provost Nancy Barrett and University of Alabama System Vice Chancellor Charles Nash gave Hood congratulatory hugs.

"I was numb," Hood said after the ceremony, in which 4,200 students received degrees. "This moment I looked forward to for a long time."

The man who stood in the schoolhouse door more than three decades ago to block Hood and Vivian Malone Jones, former Gov. George C. Wallace, was scheduled to attend and give Hood his degree. But he was unable to do so due to health concerns, university officials said.

Wallace in the last year has personally apologized for his actions to Hood and to Mrs. Jones.

Hood, a Gadsden, Ala., native, first enrolled at the university on June 11, 1963. But he said he found the attendant publicity and pressure of being the first black to attend Alabama more than he could stand, and he left two months later. Hood later earned a bachelor's degree in political science and police administration from Wayne State University and his master's degree in criminal justice administration from Michigan State University.

He spent four years as a deputy police chief in Detroit before becoming an administrator at Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin. He took a sabbatical and returned to Alabama in 1995 to pursue his doctorate.

Hood said he chose to return to the university because he wanted to accomplish what he had set out to do in 1963.

"Commencement for many students is a closure," he said. "To me it's the end of a negative chapter and an opportunity to move on."

Hood plans to return to Wisconsin in July.