CONTACT: Patrick Kurp, (518) 276-6542, [email protected]
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater to be Featured Speaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Commencement 2000 on May 13 in Albany
TROY, N.Y. - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater will be the featured speaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Commencement 2000, to be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y.
Secretary Slater, who has held his post since February 1997, is principal adviser to President Bill Clinton on all matters relating to national transportation policies and programs. He oversees highway planning, development, and construction; urban mass transit; railroads; aviation; and the safety of waterways, ports, highways, and oil and gas pipelines. Secretary Slater was previously administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
Also at Commencement 2000, Rensselaer will present honorary degrees to NASA administrator Daniel Goldin and world-renowned geophysicist Don Anderson, a 1955 graduate of Rensselaer.
Secretary Slater graduated from Eastern Michigan University, where he was captain of the football team and a member of the school's National Championship Forensics team. He earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas.
Secretary Slater was a member of the Arkansas State Highway Commission, serving as its chairman in 1992. He also served as director of governmental relations at Arkansas State University and executive assistant for economic and community programs for then-Governor Bill Clinton. Secretary Slater was named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans by Ebony magazine and earned the National Bar Association's coveted President's Award.
Goldin, who will receive an honorary doctorate in Engineering, has been NASA administrator since 1992. During his tenure, he has presided over major accomplishments such as the repair of the Hubble telescope, construction of the International Space Station, and the Mars Pathfinder mission. Prior to his NASA experience, Goldin was vice president and general manager of the TRW Space and Technology Group. He began his career as a research scientist at NASA's Lewis Research Center.
Anderson, who will receive a doctorate of science, is a world-renowned researcher in the geosciences. Known for his work on the origin, evolution, structure, and composition of Earth and other planets, he is winner of both the National Medal of Science and the prestigious Crafoord Prize. Anderson is professor of geophysics in the division of geological and planetary sciences at Caltech.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's first technological university. The school offers degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for preeminence in research conducted in a wide range of research centers that are characterized by strong industry partnerships. The Institute is especially well known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.
For up-to-date information on Commencement 2000, see the Commencement Web site at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/NewsComm/Calendar/Commencement/.
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