U.S. Dept. of Energy official to speak at Tri-Cities graduation

RICHLAND – WSU Tri-Cities will confer nearly 400 diplomas in its commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, May 14, in the Toyota Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

The class of 2010 includes one student, Beth Jan Smith, earning her doctoral degree in education; 86 students receiving master’s degrees; and 310 students completing bachelor’s degrees.

The keynote speaker is Inés R. Triay, the U.S. Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for environmental management. She was appointed by President Barak Obama and sworn into office in May 2009.

Triay oversees the safe, timely and cost-effective cleanup of radioactive waste and facilities from the nation’s Cold War nuclear weapon production and research activities. She leads the largest, most diverse and technically complex environmental cleanup program in the world, with an annual budget of more than $5.5 billion and more than 30,000 federal and contractor employees.

She previously served as the cleanup program’s principal deputy assistant secretary, chief operations officer, and deputy chief operations officer and was instrumental in starting remote-handled transuranic waste disposal operations at the department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

The commencement ceremony completes the 20th anniversary of WSU Tri-Cities becoming a WSU campus in the 1989-1990 academic year.

WSU President Elson S. Floyd will preside over graduation, along with WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Vicky L. Carwein. The graduate greeting will be delivered by Evan Bates, outgoing president of the Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities and an English major.

Family, friends, and community members are invited – no tickets are needed.

About 300 graduates will don caps and gowns to participate in commencement. The ceremony is expected to last about 90 minutes. For more details and driving directions, visit www.tricity.wsu.edu/graduation or call the chancellor’s office at 509-372-7258.

WSU Tri-Cities is located along the scenic Columbia River in Richland, Wash. Established in 1989 with upper division and graduate programs, WSU Tri-Cities expanded in 2007 to a full four-year undergraduate campus offering 17 bachelor’s, 13 master’s, and six doctoral degrees. Learn more about the fastest growing and more diverse campus in the WSU system at www.tricity.wsu.edu.