VCU news

By Anne Buckley

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will be the featured speaker at Virginia Commonwealth University’s spring commencement ceremony on May 21.

McDonnell, a U.S. Army veteran, served in Virginia’s House of Delegates and later, as attorney general, focused on policies that resulted in a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for violent child sex predators, increased penalties for drug dealers and those that protected Virginians from terrorist threats, safeguarded private property rights, reduced frivolous lawsuits and made Virginia a national leader in combating internet crimes and identity theft.

He was sworn in as the 71st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia on Jan. 16, 2010. As governor, he is dedicated to implementing policies and initiatives that will create more jobs and opportunities for all Virginians, promote economic development, and lead to more reform and greater innovation in state government. 

His proposals include improving affordability and accessibility in Virginia's higher education system; putting half a billion dollars more per year into Virginia's classrooms without a tax increase; placing Virginia in the vanguard of the national charter school expansion effort; making Virginia the "Energy Capital of the East Coast"; strategically reforming the operations of state government; and, ensuring that Virginia becomes the best state in America in which to open and grow a small business.

Commencement exercises will be held on Saturday, May 21, at the Richmond Coliseum. For more information, visit http://www.commencement.vcu.edu/.