Michael Bennet To Give Wesleyan Commencement Address

Wesleyan President Michael Roth has announced that a leading advocate for public education will be the primary speaker at Wesleyan's graduation ceremonies on May 27th.

Roth effusively praised Bennet's accomplishments in a statement:
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Michael F. Bennet ’87 was elected to his first full term as U.S. Senator for Colorado in November 2010. He is a pragmatic and independent thinker who embodies the values of the western state he represents, and whose work has contributed to good in the world, in the best of the Wesleyan tradition.

As the father of three little girls, he is driven by a deep-seated obligation to create more opportunity for the next generation. He has been a tireless advocate – first as Denver Schools superintendent and now as a member of the Senate Education Committee – for bold, locally driven changes to public education that would ensure every child is prepared to compete in a rapidly changing economy.

His concern for the next generation has fueled his efforts to build bipartisan consensus around a comprehensive plan for deficit reduction. It has also informed his efforts to ensure the pharmaceutical drugs we take every day are safe and do not harm American families.

As Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, he led an innovative and inclusive reform effort that turned around failing schools and produced strong gains in reading, math, writing and science.

Senator Bennet also served as chief of staff to then-Denver Mayor, now Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper ’74, where he helped balance a historic budget deficit and make city government more responsive to the people of Denver.

After graduating from Wesleyan, he earned a law degree from Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the “Yale Law Journal.” He worked as managing director of the Anschutz Investment Company, where he oversaw the restructuring of more than $3 billion in corporate debt.

He has many family connections to Wesleyan: most immediately, his sister Holly Bennet ’94 and father Douglas Bennet ’59, Hon. ’94, who served as president from 1995 to 2007.