Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will be speaking at the May 2018 Commencement Ceremony — per an announcement by the Associated Student Government’s Facebook page.
“Proud to announce Colorado Senator Micheal Bennet will be speaking at graduation!” Colorado Mesa University’s student government posted, with a slight misspelling of the senator’s name.
The student government — and specifically student body President Ben Linzey’s office — has been leading the charge, with a little administrative help, to invite Bennet to campus.
CMU President Tim Foster, a former state lawmaker, was able to bridge the gap and connect the school with Bennet over the last month of the selection process.
Last year, there was an effort to invite just-nominated Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch — a Colorado native — to speak at graduation. Unfortunately, the scheduling was not going to work.
However, Linzey is excited about Bennet’s arrival at the CMU campus.
“It’s really neat to have a national-level politician coming to the school — the ‘small’ Mesa — over to the Western Slope,” Linzey said.
Linzey will also speak at the graduation for a few minutes. He expects Bennet’s speech will last no longer than 15 minutes.
Linzey does not believe CMU will be paying any speaking fees as Bennet is a public representative. However, if there are any lodging or transportation costs he expects ASG will be able to foot the bill.
The senior senator for Colorado has been in his seat since 2010, prior to that he served as Denver Public Schools’ superintendent.
Bennet is a ranking member on the Senate’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources as well as the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure.
The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. at Stocker Stadium-Lincoln Park.
CMU expects around 850-900 students to walk across the stage for the forthcoming ceremony.
1,185 students will be awarded 1,269 degrees according to numbers provided by CMU.
