Hilda Solis, Jack O'Connell Keynote Commencement 2009
U.S. Labor Secretary, State Superintendent to Address May 23-24 Ceremonies
Hilda Solis
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, will address Cal State Fullerton’s Class of 2009 as the keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies.
O’Connell will step to the podium Saturday, May 23, while Solis will address attendees at the Sunday, May 24, ceremony. Both programs begin at 8 .m. on the sports fields north of Titan Gym.
Prior to being confirmed as secretary of labor in February, Solis was a four-term congresswoman representing the 32nd District that includes East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. During her congressional career, Solis championed workers' rights and was the author of the Green Jobs Act, which funded “green” job training. She won the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2000.
An alumna of Cal Poly Pomona, Solis served in the Office of Hispanic Affairs during the Carter Administration and later in the Office of Management and Budget while earning her master’s degree at USC.
She became an elected official in 1985 as a member of the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees, then became a member of the state Assembly in 1992. She served two years before becoming the first Latina elected to the state Senate, where she served as the chair of the California Senate Industrial Relations Committee.
Jack O’Connell
Cal State Fullerton alumnus Jack O’Connell (B.A. history ’73) is California’s 26th state superintendent of public instruction and is now serving his second four-year term in that post. Prior to being elected state superintendent, O’Connell was a teacher at his high school alma mater and served on the Santa Barbara County School Board. In 1982, he was elected to the state Assembly and in 1994 to the state Senate.
O'Connell has joined the university for numerous celebrations, serving as the keynote speaker for the opening of the Clayes Performing Arts Center in 2006 and as master of ceremonies for the 2007 Front & Center gala.
In addition to his keynote speaker duties for Commencement 2009 festivities, O’Connell also will offer greetings at the College of Education exercise in the Titan Gym that directly follows the May 23 main ceremony.
Universitywide Commencement 2009 ceremonies begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. No tickets are needed to gain admission to the main ceremonies, and the public is invited. College and department celebrations and exercises will follow at various locations throughout campus, where tickets are required for guests.
Additional details available online at www.fullerton.edu/commencement.
A comprehensive, regional university with a global outlook, Cal State Fullerton enrolls more than 37,000 students and offers 105 degree programs in eight colleges. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Cal State Fullerton is sixth in the nation for the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to minority students and second in California for the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics. With its main campus in Fullerton and branch campus in Irvine, Cal State Fullerton is the Orange County-based component of the 23-campus California State University, the largest system of senior higher education in the nation.
Photos:
Digital images of the keynote speakers are available online at www.fullerton.edu/newsphotos
Media Contacts:
Pamela McLaren, Public Affairs, 657-278-4852 or pmclaren@fullerton.edu
Paula Selleck, Public Affairs, 657-278-4856 or pselleck@fullerton.edu
Produced by the Office of Public
Affairs at California State University, Fullerton. Contact the web administrator for comments and problems with the website.
Copyright California State University, Fullerton. All Rights Reserved.