May 8, 2001
Troy, N.Y. — The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, the senior
U.S. senator from New York, will join entertainer and educator
Bill Cosby in speaking to graduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute’s 195th Commencement this Saturday, May 12, at the
Pepsi Arena in Albany. The program begins at 9:30 a.m.
Schumer, 49, attended public school in Brooklyn and is a
graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was
elected to the New York State Assembly at age 23, one of the
youngest members since Theodore Roosevelt.
Schumer became a member of the United States House of
Representatives at age 29, and represented the Ninth
Congressional District in Brooklyn and Queens for nine terms.
In 1998, Schumer upset Alphonse D’Amato to be elected a member
of the United States Senate from the state of New York.
He is a member of the Senate committees on Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, the Judiciary,
and Rules and Administration.
At the Commencement ceremony, Rensselaer will present honorary
doctoral degrees to Cosby and to Vinton G. Cerf, known as the
“Father of the Internet,” and renowned sociologist William
Julius Wilson. Rensselaer students are expected to 1,042
bachelor’s degrees, 624 master’s degrees, and 112 doctoral
degrees.
Contact: Bruce Adams
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A