U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud will deliver UNE's 2011 commencement address

U.S. Representative Michael H. Michaud, who represents Maine's 2nd congressional district, will be the guest speaker at the 2011 Commencement exercises, University of New England.

Commencement 2011 will take place on May 21, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. 

The university will award 1,247 associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at the ceremony.  Michaud is being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.  

Representative Michaud was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1980 and served seven consecutive terms there. 

In 1994 he ran for and was elected to the Maine State Senate. Michaud was appointed chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1996 and in 1997 was appointed to the Maine Commission on Children's Health Care, which resulted in the extension of health care to over 20,000 Maine children. Michaud was unanimously elected president of the Maine State Senate in December 2000.  

In the 112th Congress, Michaud serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, where he is the Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee.

Through his role on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Michaud has worked to ensure fair and equal treatment for veterans.  As the chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health, Michaud helped pass funding increases for the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as provisions into law that led to increased access to health care services for rural Maine veterans. 

In addition, Michaud worked to pass into law a landmark bill that ensures timely funding for veterans' health care. Most recently, President Obama signed into law a bill authored by Michaud, called the CARE Act, which established a caregiver program to help family and non-family members who provide care for disabled, ill, or injured veterans.

Michaud is the recipient of honorary degrees from Unity College, Husson College, and Maine Maritime Academy.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.