Release

UAlbany Announces Commencement, Dec. 10
Hon. Richard C. Wesley, an alumnus, will give the keynote address

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 956-8150

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 7, 2006) -- The University at Albany will hold its Winter Commencement on Sunday, December 10, 1 p.m. at the SEFCU Arena on the uptown campus.

The University will award 507 bachelor's degrees and 368 graduate degrees, including 85 doctoral degrees. Undergraduates hail from eight states and 25 different countries, including Brazil, China, Haiti, Israel, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan. The graduate degree candidates represent 10 states and 23 countries, including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ghana, India, Japan, Poland, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The undergraduate commencement class is 53 percent women and 47 percent men, and includes 12 military veterans. English and psychology were the top majors for undergraduate degree candidates. The youngest graduate is 19, while the oldest is 64.

The Hon. Richard C. Wesley, '71, will deliver the keynote address. Wesley will also receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the State University of New York.

Wesley, an associate justice of the U.S. Court, 2nd Circuit, has received acclaim for a 30-year judicial record exhibiting a broad grasp of legal principles and case law and an appreciation for the limited role assigned to the judiciary in a constitutional democracy. The support he had engendered for his record was clearly demonstrated by his successful nomination to the federal bench, which was forwarded to the U.S. Senate by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 19-0 vote, then given final Senate approval by a 96-0 margin.

Wesley's career has been notable for achievement and leadership. In 1979, four years after being admitted to the New York State Bar, he was appointed assistant counsel and chief legislative aide to Assembly Minority Leader James L. Emery of Geneseo and for the next four years managed Assemblyman Emery's legislative programs, constituent services and district office.

Wesley was elected to a l4-year term as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court in the Seventh Judicial District in 1986, and in January of l99l was also appointed supervising judge of the Criminal Courts for that District. In 1994, Governor Cuomo appointed Wesley to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. On December 3, 1996, Governor Pataki made Wesley his administration's first nomination to the State Court of Appeals.