Contacts:
Leslie Weddell
(719) 389-6038
Leslie.Weddell@ColoradoCollege.edu
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – May 14, 2008 – Michael Bennet, the new U.S. senator from Colorado, will address the Colorado College graduating class of 2009 at its commencement at 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 18 on Armstrong Quad, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St. The quad is located directly north of the intersection of Tejon and Cache La Poudre streets. Cascade Avenue will be closed from Uintah to Cache La Poudre streets from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the commencement ceremony.
Four hundred forty-seven undergraduates and nine master of arts in teaching students will receive their degrees at Colorado College’s 128th commencement ceremony.
Bennet and authors James Salter and David Quammen will receive honorary degrees from Colorado College.
Bennet became Colorado’s senator after Ken Salazar was named as Secretary of the Interior. He began his public service career as an aide to Gov. Richard Celeste of Ohio, who is now the president of Colorado College.
Before becoming the new Colorado senior, Bennet served as superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, where he worked to improve student achievement and classroom performance, while also overseeing a halt to years of budgetary cuts. He previously served as chief of staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, where Bennet was credited with leading the way on balancing a historic budget deficit.
Prior to his service to the city of Denver, Bennet was a managing director at the Anschutz Investment Company, where he managed the restructuring of more than $3 billion in corporate debt. Before moving to Denver, Bennet served as counsel to the deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice during the Clinton Administration. He was born in New Delhi, India, and earned his bachelor's degree with honors from Wesleyan University and his law degree from Yale Law School.
Salter served as an Air Force pilot for 12 years, and wrote under an assumed name to avoid having to show his work to his superiors before publication. He contributed to more than a dozen documentaries and wrote screenplays, including “Downhill Racer” which starred Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. He also wrote literary fiction, and his novel “Light Years” is considered a major work. His collection of short stories, “Dusk and Other Stories” won the 1989 PEN/Faulkner Award and his memoir, “Burning the Days,” is regarded by many as one of the finest autobiographies in American literature.
Quammen has written extensively, including novels, short fiction, nonfiction, essays and biography. From 1981 to 1996, he contributed a monthly column called “Natural Acts” for Outside magazine that explored the quirky world of biology and biologists. Today he is a contributing writer for National Geographic, specializing in articles on biodiversity, conservation and evolution. In addition, he also has written for a variety of magazines including Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone and The New York Times Book Review, earning awards on all fronts. Currently he holds the Wallace Stegner Chair of Western American Studies at Montana State University.
In the event of inclement weather on Monday, the commencement exercises will take place in the Colorado Springs World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd., Colorado Springs. If weather is a concern, listen to Colorado College’s radio station, KRCC-FM 91.5, for announcements. As space is not an issue at the World Arena, admission will not be limited there.
For information, directions or disability accommodation at the event, members of the public may call (719) 389-6607.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 1,845 students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu>.