President Obama to speak at ASU commencement

President Barack Obama will address a graduating class of more than 8,000, along with their families and friends, at Arizona State University’s spring commencement ceremonies at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, 2009.

Many in the university’s graduating class will be the first in their family to earn a college degree.

“President Obama’s stand and priority on education has been applauded by thousands of educators throughout the United States,” says ASU President Michael Crow. “The progressive leadership he has already displayed and the values he espouses are a great example for our students and for the extended community that surrounds us.

“The president’s emphasis on building the next generation of leaders in science, technology and sustainability, as well as the arts, mirrors ASU’s mission as a New American University," says Crow. "His advocacy for representation of women and people of color, engaging a broader spectrum of leadership, models significantly for others at the highest level.”

At once the youngest and the largest of the roughly 150 public and private research-grade universities in the nation, ASU enrolls more than 67,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students on four campuses of equally high aspiration configured across metropolitan Phoenix, a region negotiating societal and environmental challenges that anticipate coming trends worldwide.

For the last six years, ASU has served as America’s largest effort at institutional transformation in higher education, building a solution-focused institution that combines the highest level of academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic and maximum societal impact.

Although the university is first and foremost committed to educating the students of Arizona, it is equally a discovery organization, focused on contributing to regional economic development through enhanced research and academic programs, including major interdisciplinary research initiatives focused on innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Through both its education and discovery missions, Arizona State University is producing the nation’s newest national assets.

For more details, as they become available, on ASU's commencement visit the web site http://www.asu.edu/ssc/commence.

Media contacts:

Terri Shafer, terri.shafer@asu.edu
480-965-3865 (office), 602-363-2318 (mobile)

Sharon Keeler, sharon.keeler@asu.edu
480-965-4012 (office), 602-540-8453 (mobile)