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United States Senator and Vietnam War Hero Max
Cleland to Deliver 2001 Commencement Address at Oglethorpe
University
Atlanta – United States Senator Max Cleland will bring to
campus his message of commitment to lifelong service when he
addresses the 200-plus members of the Oglethorpe University
graduating class of 2001 at the Commencement ceremony in Atlanta on
Saturday, May 12. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m.
Cleland began his career in the U.S. Senate in 1996,
effectively continuing an impressive lifelong commitment to public
service. He was elected to fill the seat being vacated by the
retiring Sam Nunn.
The Atlanta native volunteered for duty in Vietnam
in 1967 soon after his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S.
Army. He earned the rank of captain the following year, the same
year in which he was seriously wounded in a grenade explosion where
he lost both legs and his right arm. He returned to the United
States just one month prior to the end of his tour of duty. He has
since been awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service and the
Silver Star for Gallantry in Action.
Cleland has served Georgia and the nation for more
than 30 years. In 1970 he was elected to the Georgia State Senate at
the age of 28, making him the State Senate's youngest member. He was
also the only Vietnam veteran. In the State Senate, he wrote the law
that makes public facilities accessible to the elderly and the
handicapped.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed him to
head the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA). As the youngest ever VA
administrator and the first veteran of Vietnam to head the agency,
he managed the nation's largest educational assistance program (the
GI Bill), ran the nation's most successful housing program (the VA
Home Loan Guaranty program), and administered the nation's largest
health care system (the VA Hospital program).
When Cleland was elected Georgia Secretary of State
in 1982, he was the state's youngest elected official to ever hold
the seat. As Secretary of State he fought for tougher campaign
finance laws and cracked down on securities and telemarketing fraud.
In 1995, he implemented the National Voter Registration Act ("motor
voter") in Georgia, adding nearly 1 million new voters.
He won a national award for the First Stop Business
Information Center in the Secretary of State's office, a center that
serves as a one-stop shop for small business owners and
entrepreneurs.
In 1996, soon after his election to represent the
State of Georgia in the United States Senate, he was named one of
Time magazine's Rising Democrats.
Sen. Cleland's numerous awards include the Georgia
Breast Cancer Coalition's 1998 Legislator of the Year Award, the
Georgia Peanut Commission's 1999 Distinguished Service Award, the
Georgia Association of Home Health Agencies' Legislator of the Year
for 1998 Award, the National Association of Minority Contractors
Atlanta Chapter's 1997 Trail Blazer Award, and the 1998 Scars into
Stars Award given by
Dr. Robert Schiller at the Crystal Cathedral.
After being wounded in Vietnam and making his way to
recovery, Sen. Cleland turned to public service in search of purpose
in his life. The title of his new autobiography, Strong at the
Broken Places, describes the man and his philosophy. His public
service is his purpose, and his strength. He transformed his
physical and emotional scars into purpose in his life, his stars.
The Oglethorpe University graduating class is sure
to be inspired by the message of Sen. Cleland, a military hero,
statesman, and champion of the underserved. At Oglethorpe, students
are encouraged to make a life for themselves as they prepare
intellectually for making a productive and successful living. Sen.
Cleland's lifelong accomplishments embody the qualities celebrated
at Oglethorpe every day.
The Oglethorpe University Commencement 2001 ceremony
will take place on Saturday, May 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the
Academic Quadrangle on campus. In the event of inclement weather,
the ceremony will be held indoors in the Dorough Field House.
Oglethorpe University is an independent, highly
selective, co-educational, liberal arts institution located in
Atlanta at 4484 Peachtree Road, N.E. Founded in 1835, the
institution is dedicated to producing graduates who are broadly
educated in the fundamental fields of knowledge and the basic
concepts and principles of their disciplines. The Oglethorpe total
student body consists of approximately 1,230 students representing
32 states and international students from more than 30 nations
around the world.
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