ub Office of 1420 N. Charles St. t: 410.837.4866

the President Baltimore. MD 21201-5779 f: 410.837.4875
UNIVERSITY 
0F BALTIMORE

February 15, 2017

Ms. Betsy DeVos

Secretary

U. S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., SW.
Washington, DC 20202

Re: UB Fall Graduation
Dear Madam Secretary:

Congratulations on your appointment as the Secretary of the Department of Education.

I write to invite you to be the graduation speaker for the University of Baltimore Fall
Commencement, which will be held on December 18, 2017. The event is held at the Modell Performing
Arts Center, which is adjacent to our campus. As you may know, the University of Baltimore is very
convenient from Washington, DC. We are located one block from the train station.

The Fall Commencement is very important for the University and for the regional community
because the graduating class is comprised of several hundred adult students (so called non-traditional
students, military veterans, community college transfers, and second careerists), who have pursued a
variety of graduate and undergraduate degrees or certi?cates for the primary purpose of career
development. These graduates and their family members are keenly interested in your views on education
policy development. They recognize the signi?cant impact that you will have on all educational
institutions, and thus, on the quality of life in urban America. I believe they would be inspired to hear
from you at this important point in their careers.

Please give this request very serious consideration. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing
from you.

Sincerely,



Kurt L. Schmoke
President