BATON ROUGE — Southern University Board of Supervisors members on Friday voted to award posthumous degrees to two students who died last year.

Caleb Wilson and Kavon Barnhill will both be honored at the May 2026 commencement. Both students were set to graduate during this ceremony, with Wilson studying mechanical engineering and Barnhill studying therapeutic recreation and leisure studies at the College of Nursing. 

Wilson, 20, died in February during a hazing ritual for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Barnhill, 21, died following a car crash in St. John the Baptist Parish in December.

Friday marked one year since Wilson died.