News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 12/2/04   Click on image for publication quality photo  GOVERNOR BLANCO TO ADDRESS SOUTHEASTERN GRADUATES      HAMMOND – Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco will deliver the keynote address at Southeastern Louisiana University’s fall commencement on Saturday, Dec. 11. Southeastern will confer associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees on approximately 1,125 students at the 10 a.m. ceremony in the University Center.      The commencement ceremony will feature the introduction of this year's class of "Golden Graduates," members of the Class of 1954 and previous years, who will lead the new graduates into the University Center dressed in golden academic regalia. The Golden Graduate tradition was initiated in the December 1998 commencement ceremony.       Blanco made history on Jan. 12, 2004 when she was sworn in as the first woman to serve as governor of Louisiana. Outlining her top priorities in her inaugural address, she said: “We face important challenges in this new century: expanding our economy and creating quality jobs; building an effective health care system; improving our roads and highways; rebuilding our coastline; protecting our farmers; and ensuring that all our citizens, no matter their age, have superior educational opportunities.”      Before serving in the state’s top office, Blanco completed two terms as lieutenant governor, supervising the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Under her leadership, she helped build a $9.5 billion tourism industry in Louisiana, which employs more than 125,000 people. At the end of her tenure, tourism was Louisiana’s second largest industry.      First elected lieutenant governor in 1995, she was overwhelmingly re-elected to her second term in 1999, winning 80 percent of the vote. She began her career as a public servant in 1984 when she became the first woman elected to represent the people of Lafayette in the Louisiana Legislature. Five years later she was elected to the Public Service Commission, the first woman to serve as a commissioner and, later, the first woman to chair the commission.      Before joining the public sector, she taught at Breaux Bridge High School, a public school in St. Martin Parish, near her native city of New Iberia. She holds a bachelor of science degree in business education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.