Food Network star Alton Brown will be the commencement speaker at the University of Georgia's undergraduate graduation ceremony, officials announced Thursday. The ceremony is scheduled for May 8.

Brown, who hosts the show "Good Eats", attended UGA in the 1980s and eventually received a drama degree in 2004. He also earned a degree from the New England Culinary Institute in 1997.

The chef has written six books and won the prestigious Peabody Award. The awards for excellence in radio and television broadcasting are administered by the UGA's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Brown "has shown that a UGA education can help provide a solid foundation for success," UGA President Michael Adams said in a statement.

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Ingrid Jackson, who bought a car from U.S. Auto Sales, said she was among the customers who had their car disabled by a kill switch system that impacted thousands of buyers across the Southeast who had paid their car loans on time. She is pictured in Barnesville, Ga., where she lives.  (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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