Provided

Wesley Clark

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Gen. Wesley K. Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and a Democratic primary candidate for president in 2004, will address Cornell University's annual Senior Convocation for graduating students and their families, Saturday, May 28.

The Convocation speech will be presented at noon in Barton Hall, on campus. Commencement will be held the next day, Sunday, May 29, in Schoellkopf Field, starting at 11 a.m. By tradition, Cornell President Jeffrey S. Lehman will present the annual Commencement address.

"We are very honored and excited to have General Clark address us this year before our graduation," said Cornell senior class president Steve Blake, Arts and Sciences, who is a member of the senior class committee that chose Clark as this year's Convocation speaker. "The general has had a long and distinguished career in which he has dedicated his life to service of our country. We are truly looking forward to hearing him share his wisdom and experiences at Convocation."

Clark, who retired as one of the nation's most highly decorated military officers, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point first in his class in 1966 and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for his academic achievement. He holds a master's degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford.

While serving in Vietnam, Clark was wounded four times, yet he continued to lead his troops in combat. Clark earned a Silver Star for bravery, in addition to a Purple Heart for his battlefield injuries. After serving as the director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he became commanding general of the United States Southern Command, Panama.

Clark worked to develop the peace plan that helped to end violence in the Balkans during the early 1990s. In 1997, he was promoted to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and in that role he led an international force to end ethnic violence in Kosovo. In August 2000, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, for his outstanding leadership and service in the Kosovo conflict.

After retiring from the U.S. military, Clark turned his attention to national policy, and he was among the front-runners as a Democratic candidate for president in 2004 before leaving the race that February.

He is the author of "Waging Modern War," which recounts his experience leading NATO's forces in Kosovo. Clark's latest book is "Winning Modern Wars," a critique of U.S. geo-strategy and a narrative of events in the theater of war. The co-chairs of the senior class committee that chose Clark are David Katz-Doft, Arts and Sciences, and Sabeen Virani, Arts and Sciences.