U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, will give the keynote address to Virginia Tech’s Class of 2012 during University Commencement exercises to be held on Friday, May 11, at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field.

University Commencement will begin at noon. More than 5,000 graduates will be honored at this ceremony.

"Senator Warner has devoted himself to serving the people of our commonwealth,” said Virgnia Tech President Charles W. Steger. “During his term as governor, and now in his role as United States senator, Mr. Warner has been an advocate of higher education, helping our students achieve great successes, and has consistently supported university research as a major catalyst for economic development. We are delighted Senator Warner will be our commencement speaker.”

Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, where he has established himself as a national leader in efforts to find bipartisan consensus to reduce the federal debt. He has been a leader in efforts to reduce red tape for small businesses and has worked to enact policies that encourage innovative start-up businesses. Warner also has been a consistent champion for our military men and women, their families and veterans.

From 2002 to 2006, Warner served as Governor of Virginia, where he worked in a bipartisan way to turn record budget deficits into a surplus. Warner’s administration made record investments in Virginia’s public schools, colleges and universities, and he also played an instrumental role in Virginia Tech’s 2003 invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Warner recruited 135,000 new jobs to Virginia during his four-year term as governor. When he left office in 2006, Virginia was recognized as the nation’s best-managed state, the best state for business and the state providing the best educational opportunities in the nation for its young people.

Before entering public office, Warner was an early leader in the growth of the cellular phone industry. He co-founded the company that became Nextel, and then made early investments in hundreds of start-up companies that created thousands of private sector jobs.