U.S. Senator George LeMieux Is Florida Tech Commencement Speaker Dec. 12

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Charles and Ruth Clemente Center is the site of Florida Institute of Technology’s fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. A highlight of the event will be commencement speaker U.S. Senator from Florida George LeMieux. He was sworn in to the U.S. Senate Sept. 10, 2009, completing the remainder of Senator Mel Martinez’s unexpired term.

A native Floridian, LeMieux led the Executive Office of Florida Governor Charlie Crist as the Governor’s Chief of Staff in 2007. In early 2008, LeMieux rejoined the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley. In March that year he was selected to lead the firm as chairman. He lives in Tallahassee with his wife Meike and their three sons Max, Taylor and Chase.

Lemieux, who grew up in Broward County, graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University with a degree in political science. He received his law school education at Georgetown University where he graduated with honors.

At the ceremony, two bachelor’s degree graduates will receive the Faculty Honors Award for maintaining a 4.0 (perfect) grade point average. They are Chad William Hopkins, a dual major in computer sciences and physics from Ramrod Key, Fla., and Aubrey Anne Heath, a chemical engineering major with a minor in chemistry from Cypress, Texas.

This December, about 880 students will be eligible to walk across the stage to receive their Florida Tech bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees. These include students earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees through the Melbourne campus in December as well as those who earned their degrees in Melbourne at the end of the Summer 2009 session; students who earned degrees in summer and fall through the university’s Extended Studies Division, which has 10 sites throughout the United States and a virtual campus; and students earning degrees this summer and fall through online programs.