Five-term Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. LAW '68 of Delaware will speak at the Syracuse University College of Law's 2002 Commencement. This will be Biden's second commencement address for the College of Law; his first was in 1994. The commencement will be held at 1 p.m. May 19 in the OnCenter, 800 State St. in downtown Syracuse.
A total of 240 juris doctorate candidates are expected to attend.
Dean Daan Braveman will preside, and SU Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw will confer the degrees upon the students.
Prof. William Banks will deliver the faculty address. David B. Snyder, president of the college's Class of 2002, will speak on behalf of the new graduates.
Class of 2002 member Evan A. Lipton will sing the national anthem. He will also sing the alma mater along with class members Jodi Ann Argentino, Danielle C. Burt and Richard S. Milesnick.
The invocation will be delivered by the Rev. Wayne B. Cobb, pastor of The Lord of the Harvest Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is the father of Class of 2002 member Quo Vadis I. Cobb. The benediction will be given by the Rev. Emmanuel Kwaku Obodai, associate pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Carnegie, Pa. He is the father of Class of 2002 member Annette E. K. Obodai.
Biden is chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, making him the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson on national security and foreign policy issues. In addition to his leadership on foreign policy, crime and drug control issues, Biden is widely recognized for his work in environmental protection and education policy.
