Calvin to Welcome President Bush for Commencement

April 21, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

A little over five years ago, in January 2000, George W. Bush, then governor
of Texas, took to the stage of the Calvin College Fine Arts Center as part of a
nationally televised debate among those seeking the Republican nomination for
President, a nomination he eventually earned on his way to becoming the
nation's 43rd President.

Now President Bush is in his second term as the nation's leader. And on May
21 he again will grace a Calvin College stage.

This time the setting will be the Calvin Fieldhouse and the occasion will be
the college's 85th annual Commencement ceremony.

Calvin learned late in the day on April 20, via FAX, that President Bush has
accepted the college's invitation to speak at its 2005 Commencement
ceremonies.

The appointment was announced officially this morning by the White House at
the daily press gaggle by White House spokesman Scott McClellan. See
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/

Calvin President Gaylen Byker says the event will be a significant one for the
Christian, liberal arts college.

"It is a great honor to have the President of the United States speak at
Calvin," he says. "By virtue of his position, he is undoubtedly one of the
most influential people in the world. We want our students to leave this place
challenged and motivated to renew God's world in whatever they do. For our
graduates to hear from President Bush as they prepare to leave Calvin and make
a difference in the world is an extraordinary opportunity for them. The
presence of President Bush will certainly make this a Commencement that
students, parents and the Calvin community will remember for years to come."

Byker says regardless of one's political persuasion the opportunity to hear
from the President of the United States is a singular opportunity.

"We invite many speakers to campus because we want our community to meet and
hear from important national and world figures," he says. " We need to hear
and learn from thinkers and leaders whether we agree with them or not."

In fact on May 5 Calvin will host Jim Wallis who will speak on "God's
Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."

On May 21 Calvin expects to bid farewell to some 900 graduates. But it was a
graduate of almost 50 years ago, U.S. Congressman Vernon Ehlers, a 1956 Calvin
graduate, who, along with Ambassador Peter Secchia, lent a helping hand in
securing this year's Commencement speaker.

Ehlers, who also taught at Calvin for 17 years as a physics professor, has
been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 and throughout
his time in political life has gained notice as a leader on issues involving
the environment, education and public health. He also was a strong advocate
for Calvin in its bid to have President Bush speak at Commencement.

On May 21 President Bush will share the stage with a trio of distinguished
graduates of Calvin.

Slated to receive Calvin's Distinguished Alumni Award at Commencement 2005 are
Edwin Bos and his wife Carol Yonkers Bos, both 1968 graduates of Calvin, and
Richard Katte, a 1958 graduate.

Edwin and Carol Bos are being honored for their work as founders of Worldwide
Lab Improvement, Inc., a non-profit ministry devoted to assisting mission
hospital and clinic labs in developing countries with consultation, equipment,
supplies and training.

Katte has served as a mathematics teacher, coach, athletic director and
assistant principal at Denver Christian High School since 1960 where his boys'
basketball teams have won over 700 games and six state championships.

"In Edwin and Carol Bos and Dick Katte President Bush will find three superb
representatives of what we believe a Calvin education is all about," says
Byker. "All three have made a difference in the world in very special ways."

-end-
Received on Thu Apr 21 10:33:53 2005