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Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, will speak to graduates at UMW and Liberty University. |
Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich will give the spring commencement address at the University of Mary Washington.
President William Frawley said the board of visitors, senior UMW officials and others collectively decided to invite Gingrich to the May 12 ceremony.
They wanted someone, in part, who is making decisions that affect students' lives, Frawley said yesterday.
During his 20 years in Congress, Gingrich pushed for the "Republican Contract with America."
These days, he serves as a political analyst for Fox News and is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He founded the Center for Health Transformation and is a board member of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
"As an accomplished policymaker and potential presidential candidate, speaker Gingrich is an excellent choice to have at UMW," Frawley said in a statement.
An alumnus put the university in touch with Gingrich, who agreed in January to appear. Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell will introduce him to the graduates.
Gingrich also is lined up to be the spring commencement speaker at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
He earned a doctorate in modern European history from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Obviously, not all students agree with the partisan Republican's positions.
But "this is a university, and a university is a forum for all ideas," Frawley said.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402