Former Astronaut, Air Force General Among Featured Speakers at Colorado State’s Spring Commencement Ceremonies May 14-15

A former astronaut and a decorated Air Force general are two of the speakers slated for commencement ceremonies at Colorado State University May 14 and 15.

College ceremonies and an ROTC commissioning will recognize 2,837 spring graduates. In all, diplomas will be granted to 2,219 undergraduates, 418 master’s students, 137 professional veterinary medicine students and 63 doctoral students. Thirty students will graduate summa cum laude, 68 students magna cum laude and 147 students cum laude.

The College of Engineering commencement ceremony will feature a speech by Richard H. Truly, a retired naval aviator, test pilot and astronaut who piloted shuttle flights. Truly was the eighth administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1989-92.

Since 1997, Truly has overseen the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the nation’s premiere facility for research, development and deployment of energy from the sun, from wind and from plant life. Truly will address the College of Engineering commencement at 1 p.m. May 15 at the Equine Teaching and Research Center, 701 S. Overland Trail.

Highlighting another ceremony will be a speech by Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden, commander of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base and director of education of the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. Redden will commission students as Air Force and Army officers at the ROTC Commissioning at 3 p.m. May 14 in the Lory Student Center.

Redden is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and command pilot who served on 607 combat missions, many during the Vietnam War, and has earned many major military awards, including the National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with bronze service star; the Vietnam Service Medal with silver service star and two bronze service stars; and the Distinguished Service Medal. Redden currently oversees Air Force needs for enlisted and officer military education, professional continuing education and graduate education.

Following is a complete list of graduation speakers, starting times and locations for each college ceremony.

May 14

  • Graduate School–speaker: Holmes Rolston III, University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State and professor of philosophy; 3 p.m., Moby Arena
  • ROTC Commissioning–speaker: Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden; 3 p.m., Lory Student Center.
  • Business–speaker: Rulon Stacey, director of Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins; 7 p.m., Moby Arena

May 15

  • Agricultural Sciences–speaker: Douglas W. Ming, NASA space scientist and a soil science and chemistry expert with special expertise on Mars surface chemistry and mineralogy; 9 a.m., Equine Teaching and Research Center, 701 S. Overland Trail.
  • Applied Human Sciences–speaker: Amy Jewett, graduating senior in Industrial Technology Management; 9 a.m., Moby Arena
  • Natural Resources–speaker: Dale Hein, professor of fishery and wildlife biology at Colorado State and winner of the 1999 State Board of Agriculture Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award; 9 a.m., Lory Student Center
  • Engineering–speaker: Richard H. Truly; 1 p.m., Equine Center.
  • Natural Sciences–speaker: LeRoy Tadlock, director of engineering for Colorado for Mission Systems, an affiliate of Lockheed Martin; 1 p.m., Moby Arena
  • Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences–speaker: Colorado State University President Albert Yates; 2 p.m., Lory Student Center
  • Professional Veterinary Medicine–5 p.m., Equine Center
  • Liberal Arts–speaker: Will Schwartz, Colorado State professor of music and coordinator of the string division. Schwartz is conductor of the Fort Collins Symphony and conducts both university orchestras; 5 p.m., Moby Arena.