Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will be the University of Maryland’s spring commencement speaker, campus officials announced Monday.
Gore, who was elected to four terms in the House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate, is also the chairman and founder of Generation Investment Management, a London-based investment management firm, and the founder and chairman for The Climate Reality project, a nonprofit that aims to address climate change.
The 70-year-old lawmaker-turned-environmentalist, along with The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for spreading awareness about man-made climate change and how to prevent it.
“Vice President Gore’s ability to ‘look over the horizon’ while mastering the intricacies of action has earned him a Nobel Prize and a profound record of public service,” university President Wallace Loh said in a news release. “We are honored and excited to have him as our commencement speaker.”
[Read more: Rep. Elijah Cummings selected as UMD’s winter commencement speaker]
Gore will also receive an honorary doctorate in public service from this university.
The Washington, D.C., native is known for his stances on climate change, and has criticized President Trump’s offshore drilling proposal and commended Ontario’s cap-and-trade system, which sets a hard cap on greenhouse gas emissions. In March 2016, he spoke at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center about the future of climate action, saying the crisis is “now a global medical emergency” and “the number one threat to the global economy.”
[Read more: A retired MLB pitcher-turned-CEO will be speaking at UMD’s commencement]
Gore was President Bill Clinton’s running mate in 1992 and 1996, serving two terms in the White House. In the historical 2000 presidential election, Gore served as the Democratic nominee, taking home the popular vote but eventually conceding the election to George W. Bush.
In December, U.S. Rep Elijah Cummings delivered this university’s winter 2017 commencement address, also receiving an honorary public service doctorate from this university. Mark Ciardi, a university alumnus, ex-Major League Baseball Pitcher, and founder and CEO of Apex Entertainment, delivered this university’s spring 2017 commencement address.
