MEDIA CONTACT: Pat Vaughan Tremmel at 847-491-4892 or p-tremmel@northwestern.edu

May 10, 2005

Durbin Speaks at Northwestern Law School Convocation

Sen. Dick Durbin

CHICAGO --- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, will address graduates, parents and guests at the Northwestern University School of Law graduation convocation Sunday, May 15.

In December 2004, Democratic senators elected Durbin as assistant Democratic leader, also known as the Democratic whip, marking only the fifth time in history that an Illinois senator of either party has served in the Senate leadership.

The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.

Henry S. Bienen, Northwestern president, and David E. Van Zandt, dean of the School of Law, also will deliver remarks. David Sajous (JD ‘04) will speak on behalf of alumni, and Steven McFarlane (JD ‘05) and Yi Lu (LLM ‘05) will speak for the graduating class.

Alex Amezcua, president, Student Bar Association (JD ‘05), will present student-voted awards for excellence. Award recipients include Professor Jim Speta (Robert Childres Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence), Professor Martin Redish (outstanding first-year course professor), Professor Kimberly Yuracko (outstanding professor of a small class), and Howard Nagelberg, senior partner, Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum Perlman & Nagelberg (outstanding adjunct professor). The Wigmore Key also will be presented to the graduating student who has done the most to help preserve the traditions of the School of Law.

The class of 2005 includes 253 candidates for JD degrees and 17 candidates for joint JD-MBA degrees from the School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management. Northwestern is the only law school that offers a three-year JD-MBA in one of the largest and best integrated law and business programs in the country.

There also are 82 candidates for LLM degrees; 19 candidates for the LLM degree and certificate in business administration from Kellogg; and 29 candidates for LLM degrees in taxation. Three students will be candidates for the joint master of science in journalism and master of studies in law degrees from the School of Law and the Medill School of Journalism.

A Democrat from Springfield, Durbin is the first Illinois senator to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee in more than a quarter of a century. The state’s senior senator, he is the convener of the bipartisan Illinois delegation.

During his tenure in Congress, Durbin has been at the forefront of issues related to health care, consumer protection, gun control and rights for farmers. He is a founding member of the Senate Global AIDS Caucus, has been honored as the American Public Health Association’s “Legislator of the Year” and was awarded the American Medical Association’s Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service.

The author of landmark legislation to ban smoking on commercial airline flights, Durbin has worked in the Senate to protect children from the harm caused by tobacco. For this body of work, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Lung Association.

In 2001, Durbin was appointed to the Senate’ s leadership team as assistant Democratic floor leader and, in 2000, served as co-chairman of the Democratic Platform Committee. He also co-chaired the Atlantic Conference sponsored by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2002, Durbin fills the seat left vacant by the retirement of his long-time friend and mentor Sen. Paul Simon. He previously served as a U.S. Congressman for Illinois’ 20th Congressional District, from 1983 to 1997.

Durbin holds a JD from Georgetown University.