Former U.S. Representative and Colorado College graduate Liz Cheney will deliver the keynote address at Colorado College’s 149th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 28.
Cheney, who graduated from Colorado College in 1988 with a political science degree and from the University of Chicago in 1996 with a law degree, served as a Republican representative of Wyoming from 2017 to the beginning of this year. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, from 2019 to 2021. She presently serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. She is the elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Second Lady Lynne Cheney, who is also a Colorado College alumna and a former, and now honorary, trustee.
“Representative Liz Cheney is someone who has pursued courageous conversations and taken bold actions,” says Colorado College President L. Song Richardson. “In recognition of her 'consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy,' she was awarded the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 2022.”
After the 2020 election, Cheney called on former President Donald Trump to respect the rulings of the courts and support the peaceful transfer of power. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, she stood against violence and took on the role of House Jan. 6 Committee vice chair.
Also at the Commencement ceremony, held on campus at Ed Robson Arena, Colorado College will confer honorary degrees upon the following notable individuals:
Dr. Mike Edmonds, retiring senior vice president, joined Colorado College in 1991. As acting co-president from 2020 to 2021, he led the campus community through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and became the first Black president in the college’s 147-year history. Prior to the presidency, Edmonds served as dean of students and vice president of Student Life. Deeply involved in collegiate speech and debate, he was inducted into the National Speech and Debate Association Hall of Fame.
Robert G. Moore, retiring senior vice president for Finance and Administration, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer, joined the college in 2009. His work improved CC’s physical campus, the compensation and benefits of employees, college finances, financial aid, and the student experience. Moore served as acting co-president of Colorado College from 2020 to 2021, navigating the difficulties of COVID-19. Moore is a national leader, having served in 2020-21 as the chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Hilaree Nelson, Colorado College Class of 1995, North Face team captain, National Geographic Adventurer, first woman to climb Everest and Lhotse (both over 8,000 meters) in a single 24-hour push, and first to ski from the summit of Lhotse. Nelson was an all-time great in ski mountaineering, mentor to other women mountaineers, and an advocate for climate-change awareness. She died in September 2022 in a ski fall caused by an avalanche near the summit of Manaslu in Nepal.
Robin Wilson, professor emeritus, the Open University (UK), world‐renowned mathematician, historian of mathematics, and from 1982 to 2016, a frequent visiting professor at CC. He gave numerous lectures to the wider college on a range of mathematical, historical, and musical topics. He authored or co‐authored 50 books and 80+ articles on topics ranging from abstract algebra and graph theory topopularizations of mathematical ideas.