The Honors Convocation will recognize more than 100 students from the class of 2010 who have exhibited academic excellence in graduating Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum, as well as those who merit Honorable Mention.

 

Gov. Markell, a native of Newark, Del., is in his second year as the governor of Delaware. In his first 15 month’s as chief executive of the First State, Gov. Markell has signed landmark energy consumption legislation; signed a bill ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, insurance and employment; Prior his election as governor, he served three elected terms as the State Treasurer; and has pursued education reform with new initiatives in student progress testing, a pilot program to reward success in closing the achievement gap; and has been aggressive in address budgetary challenges amid the current economic downturn.

 

Prior to being elected in November 2008, Gov. Markell served four consecutive elected terms as the State Treasurer of Delaware. In the elected state position, he instituted state-of-the-art bulk purchasing policies for state government agencies, saving taxpayers more than $25 million; established “The Delaware Money School, a financial literacy program; promoted the awareness of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which provided money to families near the poverty line.

 

He began his career in the private sector helping lead the wireless technology revolution as the 13th employee at Nextel (a name he coined), where he served as senior vice president for Corporate Development. His other business experience includes a senior management position at Comcast Corporation, work as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and as a banker at First Chicago Corporation.

 

The Honors Convocation will be open to the public.