Rep. named College speaker

Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. will speak at this year's College of Arts and Sciences graduation ceremony, which will be held on May 20 at Franklin Field. Ford is now in his third term representing the ninth district of Tennessee in the House of Representatives. He delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention last August. The 30-year-old congressman graduated from Penn in 1992 and received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston said that he believes Ford exemplifies the qualities of a Penn student. "He represents a model for students in the College," Preston said. "He's a very young alum who has already made an important contribution politically." Preston said in making the decision, he and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman looked for a relatively recent Penn graduate to appeal to the audience. "I think younger speakers tend to connect better with our graduates," Preston said. Previous College speakers include former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell. The student speaker for the Class of 2001 will be David Scales, a Chemistry and American History double major. Scales will be studying for an Master's in History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University next year. Student speakers are nominated by faculty from different departments. They must submit a written rough draft of their speech to the dean in order to be eligible. Scales, who said his speech is tentatively titled "My Extracurricular Education," said he was shocked to be nominated, let alone selected. "It's intimidating," Scales said. "Here in my five minute speech, I'm supposed to speak for the entire student body, and you can't speak for the entire student body." While at Penn, Ford studied American History. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 at age 26, making him the youngest member of the 105th Congress. Political Science Professor Jerome Maddox said Ford is one of the major young forces in politics today. "He strikes me as being the face of the new generation of the Democratic party," Maddox said. "He's very eloquent and thoughtful. He's a cool, calm and collected speaker." Ford, whose father was a congressman as well, has focused on improving education across the nation. The ceremony -- which will begin at 7 p.m. on May 20 -- will be attended by approximately 1,450 students. A crowd of about 12,000 spectators is expected.