Obama Returning to ASU to Give Spring Commencement Address

President Obama is giving Air Force One another workout with his second schlep to the Valley in four months. Obama plans on giving the spring commencement address to about 8,000 Arizona State University students at 7 p.m. on May 13. More people will see the celeb-president than during his visit...

By Ray Stern

March 20, 2009

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President Obama is giving Air Force One another workout with his second schlep to the Valley in four months.

Obama plans on giving the spring commencement address to about 8,000 Arizona State University students at 7 p.m. on May 13.

More people will see the celeb-president than during his visit to Dobson High School last month, but the closed graduation ceremony will still leave plenty of well-wishers -- and protesters -- out in the heat.

Here's the brief announcement from ASU President Michael Crow:

We are very pleased and honored that the White House has announced that President Obama has agreed to be Arizona State University's Spring Commencement Speaker. We have changed the date of Commencement to Wednesday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m., to accommodate his schedule. Details will follow.

Michael Crow

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.