MOSCOW, Idaho – Students at the University of Idaho’s Moscow graduation this year will hear from Idaho Congressman Walter C. “Walt” Minnick, who will give the commencement address on Saturday, May 16.
“I have been afforded the rare privilege of attending many commencement ceremonies, as a graduate, as a father and as a supporter of higher education. It is always an exciting day, full of promise,” Minnick said. “I very much appreciate the honor and privilege of addressing this class of graduates about the challenges facing our nation and the hope I have for the future these young people will create.”
Minnick is serving his first term as the congressman from Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. He serves on the House Agriculture Committee, where he helps craft policy for Idaho farmers and helps oversee the U.S. Forest Service lands throughout Idaho and the west. He also serves on the House Financial Services Committee.
Minnick grew up near Walla Walla, Wash., on his family’s dryland wheat farm. He earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics from Whitman College, a master's of business administration degree from Harvard Business School, and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School. He spent two years in the U.S. Army. After completing military service, he worked in the Pentagon and White House for four years, and then returned to Idaho in 1974, where he embarked upon a 35-year career as a businessman.
He went to work for Trus Joist, a wood-products company headquartered in Boise. He rose quickly through the ranks, and eventually served more than 15 years as its CEO, growing the company to more than $700 million in sales. After an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1996, he founded Summerwinds, a company that grew to be one of the 10 largest retail-nursery chains in the country. He resigned as chairman of its board after winning election to Congress in November 2008.
Minnick has served on numerous boards and foundations, but has a “special love for education.” He has been a trustee for two universities, co-founded a statewide initiative by businesses to help improve Idaho education and helped guide the Boise State University business school through accreditation. He also is an avid outdoorsman with a deep affection for Idaho’s backcountry. When not serving in Congress, he is often in Idaho rafting rivers, fishing mountain lakes and hiking peaks.
He has four children and three grandchildren. He is married to A.K. Leinhart-Minnick.
Full commencement details are available and will be updated online at the Registrar's Web site at http://www.uidaho.edu/commencement.
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About the University of Idaho
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.