FAA ADMINISTRATOR TO DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT GW’S SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE CEREMONY

WASHINGTON – Jane F. Garvey, the Administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, will deliver the commencement address at The George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) graduation celebration on Friday, May 17, at 7:00 p.m.

Ms. Garvey has been the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration since August 1997 and is the first FAA Administrator confirmed by the United States Senate to a five-year term.   As FAA Administrator, Garvey manages a 49,000-person agency that operates the world’s largest air traffic control system. 

Prior to being named FAA Administrator, Garvey was Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and served as its Deputy Administrator from April 1993 until February 1997.  She was responsible for an annual budget of $20 billion and worked in partnership with the states to maintain the safety and efficiency of the nation’s roads and bridges.  Before joining FHWA, Garvey served as director of Logan International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest aviation facilities, and from 1988 to 1991, she was Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works.  Before that, Garvey was Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, where she directed construction activities and developed environmental initiatives. 

Garvey holds degrees from Mount Saint Mary College and Mount Holyoke College, and she has participated in the Fellowship Program for Public Leaders at Harvard University. 

SEAS Dean Timothy W. Tong announced Garvey as the SEAS keynote speaker, saying, “Transportation safety and security is one of the SEAS areas of excellence, so Administrator Garvey was a natural choice for us.  We are especially proud of the success of our FAA safety and security programs and our transportation safety programs, so it is only fitting that we would ask Administrator Garvey to join us to celebrate the hard work and achievements of our graduates.”

The School of Engineering and Applied Science prepares engineers to address society’s technological challenges by providing outstanding undergraduate, graduate, and professional educational experiences and by stimulating and promoting innovative, fundamental and applied research activities.

The University will hold its unified commencement on the Ellipse across from the White House on Sunday, May 19, at 10 a.m. 

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©2002 The George Washington University Office of University Relations, Washington, D.C.
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