Sen. Mary Landrieu will be the keynote speaker at the 2009 spring commencement ceremony Friday, May 15 at 9 a.m. in the PMAC. “I am truly honored to share this special day with 2009 graduates and their families,” Landrieu said in a University news release. “Our graduates face great opportunities as well as tremendous challenges as they advance in their professional life and their chosen vocations. I will encourage them to use what they have learned to become positive forces in their communities and help Louisiana become an even better place to live in the future.”Landrieu, a New Orleans native and 1977 University alumna, became the first woman from Louisiana elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate in 1996. She is the chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. “We’re honored to have Sen. Landrieu serve as our keynote speaker,” Chancellor Michael Martin said in the release. “We recognize that she has worked tirelessly both here and in Washington to articulate the many positive aspects of our state and to help the people of Louisiana, especially in the wake of recent disasters. Being an LSU alumnus herself, the senator understands LSU’s mission and serves as a great example of how an LSU education can open doors to successful careers and effective public service.”Martin invited Landrieu to speak in March.Landrieu’s brother Mitch is currently Louisiana’s lieutenant governor, and her father, Moon, served two terms as mayor of New Orleans in the ‘70s. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]