Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will be the commencement speaker for Texas Tech's Graduate School Commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. Dec. 12.
Tech System Chancellor Kent Hance said McCain's speech will provide Tech graduates and those in attendance a "great opportunity" to hear from the 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate.
McCain originally was hesitant to participate in any university commencement speaking role, but Hance said he and McCain are personal friends and he was able to persuade the senator to come to Tech.
"He has been very gracious," he said. "John McCain is a great American hero."
Hance said he was impressed with the way McCain "handled himself with dignity" in the weeks following his loss to President-elect Barack Obama in November.
Hance, who is scheduled to be the commencement speaker during Tech's undergraduate commencements at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 13, served with McCain in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1985.
McCain has served in the U.S. Senate since 1987 and is the senior senator from Arizona.
Hance served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Lubbock area from 1979 to 1985 and is an alumnus and former faculty member of the university.
Past commencement speakers at Tech include former President George H.W. Bush in spring 1999, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in spring 1997 and former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker in spring 2008, according to information provided by the Tech Office of the Provost Web site.
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