Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture will address the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) class of 2022 along with family and friends at the commencement exercises at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
Thomas J. Vilsack was confirmed as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture on Feb. 23, 2021 by the U.S. Senate. He was nominated by President Joe Biden to return to a role where he served for eight years under President Barack Obama. He was previously the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture 2009 to 2017 and Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
“It is indeed an honor that the United States Secretary of Agriculture will be addressing the University of Minnesota Crookston’s 2022 graduating class. The Red River Valley has a long and proud history of feeding the world. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack has been a strong proponent of supporting rural economic development through investments in agricultural businesses and communities, growing local food infrastructure,” said UMC Chancellor, Mary Holz-Clause. “Vilsak was governor of Iowa while I lived there, among his signature accomplishments was the development of the Grow Iowa Values Fund, which stimulated economic development for the state.”
UMC’s academic degrees are rooted in agriculture and the campus continues to partner with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), the Northwest Research & Outreach Center (NWROC), and the University of Minnesota Extension. Bergland Laboratory is actually the result of a collaborative effort among UMC, AURI, and the NWROC. The building serves as a center for teaching, applied student lab experiences, and research in the agronomic, botanical, and horticultural sciences. The facility was officially dedicated as the Bergland Laboratory in 2003. Bergland, a lifelong resident of Roseau served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during the Carter Administration (1976-1980).
Vilsack was born into an orphanage in Pittsburgh, Pa., and adopted in 1951. After earning a law degree from Albany Law School in New York, he moved to his wife’s hometown of Mount Pleasant, Iowa where he practiced law. His wife, Christie, was a middle and high school teacher in her early career and has since served as a senior advisor for international education with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
