Bill Clinton to Give Commencement Speech at LMU Month Before Calif. Primary

LOS ANGELES, CA - Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the commencement address at Loyola Marymount University's graduation ceremony, the university announced Thursday.

Clinton will speak to graduates on May 7 -- exactly one month before the California primary election, in which his wife will be looking for a boost in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"President Clinton is one of the great statesmen of our time, and he will address our students as they embark on the next stage of their lives," LMU President Timothy Law Snyder said. "His commitment to improving the lives of other people, during and beyond his career in U.S. politics, embodies the ethos of becoming women and men with and for others.

"President Clinton will inspire our graduates as they seek to lead lives of meaning, purpose and global impact," Snyder said.

More than 1,400 bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees will be conferred during the ceremony. Among the graduates will be a nephew of Clinton, according to the university.

LMU's graduate degrees will be conferred during a separate ceremony on May 8.

--City News Service, photo via Wiki Commons