House Speaker Paul Ryan to deliver 2016 Commencement address
Ten years after briefly addressing the Class of 2006 as a fourth-term congressman, Paul Ryan is returning to share his insights with another graduating class — this time as Speaker of the House.
Carthage is proud to announce that Speaker Ryan will deliver the 2016 Commencement address. The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, May 22, in the N. E. Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center Field House.
Now serving his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Ryan represents Wisconsin’s First Congressional District — which includes the Carthage campus.
As the highest-ranking legislative official in the U.S. government, the speaker is second in line to the presidency.
“It is an honor for Carthage College to have Speaker Ryan deliver our Commencement address. In a heated election year, it is natural for people to view elected officials through partisan lenses. However, putting politics aside on this special day, we are eager for Paul Ryan to share with our graduating class the insights he gained while rising from a motivated young person in Wisconsin to congressional leader on the international stage,” said Carthage President Gregory S. Woodward.
Now 46, Rep. Ryan won his first election to Congress at age 28 in 1998. Speaking at Carthage’s 2006 Commencement, upon receiving an honorary doctorate degree from the College, he advised graduates to adapt by continually learning and urged them to prioritize both tolerance and truth.
While Rep. Ryan chaired the Budget Committee, the House passed his budget proposal four years in a row. In 2012, he was the Republican nominee for vice president of the United States as running mate to presidential nominee Mitt Romney. In 2013, he and Democratic senator Patty Murray negotiated the first budget agreement in a divided Congress since 1986. As House speaker, he succeeds John Boehner, who retired from Congress in October.
Born and raised in Janesville, Speaker Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin native. The youngest of four children, he is the son of the late Paul Sr. and Betty Ryan. He holds a degree in economics and political science from Miami University in Ohio. With his wife, Janna, and their three children, Rep. Ryan still lives on the same block where he grew up.
Commencement caps three days of events for 2016 Carthage graduates. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, May 22, in the N. E. Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center Field House. The Office of Institutional Advancement will distribute five Commencement tickets to each graduating student, and they may not be sold.
For guests who cannot attend the ceremony in person, it will be streamed live online beginning at 10:30 a.m. Find links at live.carthage.edu.