U.S. senator named SU College of Law Commencement keynote speaker

U.S. senator named SU College of Law Commencement keynote speakerMarch 07, 2006Jaclyn D. Grossojgrosso@law.syr.edu

Six-term U.S. senator and an influential member of both the judiciary and foreign relations committees, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) will deliver the 2006 Commencement address to graduates of the Syracuse University College of Law on Sunday, May 21. Sen. Biden, who graduated from the College of Law in 1968, is one of the most respected Senate voices on foreign policy, civil liberties and crime prevention.

“Sen. Biden’s 34 years of distinguished public service and leadership demonstrate the kind of passion for the law that we hope to instill in our graduates,” says Hannah R. Arterian, dean and professor of law. “I’m pleased that he has accepted our invitation to return to our law school and speak to its next generation of leaders.”

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, when he was 29 years old, Biden is serving his sixth consecutive six-year term. A former chair of both the judiciary and foreign relations committees, Biden is currently the ranking minority member on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Victims’ Rights. He is also the co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

Biden was chosen as this year’s Commencement speaker through a selection process designed to give students and others in the College of Law community the opportunity to assist in the decision-making.